China

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the risk of the transfer to China of information which could be used for military purposes through China's involvement in the Galileo project.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 29 June 2006
	The current development phase is a joint project between the Directorate General for Transport and Energy in the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Supervisory Board of the Galileo Joint Undertaking is established to ensure an adequate information flow and political control by member states of the implementation of the development phase.
	The Government are aware of the sensitive nature of some parts of Galileo. We continue to monitor the project closely. We have been careful to ensure that any agreements with partners in the programme that are not member states of the EU or ESA specifically exclude them from participation in all sensitive aspects.
	Individual member states of the ESA and EU participating in Galileo are responsible, under their own national and/or any international export control regimes—such as MCTR (Missile Technology Control Regime) and Wassenaar—of which they are signatories, for the control of strategic exports and should apply these rules to Galileo as required. For example, all EU countries follow the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports which prohibits export of military technology, including dual use technologies where a military end use is known or suspected, to non-EU states, including China, where this is inappropriate. An assessment of the risk of diversion to an undesirable end user or end use is a key criterion under the code. The UK Government assesses Galileo technology proposed for transfer to non-EU states against these criteria.

Cyclist Numbers

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of people who travel by bicycle to work in London each day.

Derek Twigg: Transport for London (TfL) estimate that 216,000 work related cycling trips are made each day. However, TfL is in the process of developing a project to track businesses with travel plans called iTRACE, which in future will provide much more accurate information on the issue of cycling to work. This is expected to be operational by 2008.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to make copies of deposited papers available in the  (a) Vote Office and  (b) Printed Paper Office at the same time as copies are deposited in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Leader of the House (Mr. Straw) on 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 729W.

Ports

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much it cost to conduct the review of the management of ports in local authority ownership in England and Wales.

Stephen Ladyman: This review was carried out over two years using in house resources. Exact figures are unavailable, however it is estimated to have cost in the region of £70,000. This includes publication costs. The manpower element of this, £56,332, cover all municipal ports issues not just the review.

Ports

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been budgeted for the cost of the ports policy review.

Stephen Ladyman: The total expenditure to date on the ports policy review has been £200,000 on two consultants' studies contributing to the evidence-base; £203,000 internal staff costs and £19,000 launch costs. A further £150,000 has been budgeted for in-house costs for the completion of the exercise, with £90,000 provision for external costs.

Post Office Contracts

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for which services  (a) his Department and  (b) its associated public bodies hold contracts with the Post Office; and what the (i) start and (ii) termination date is of each contract.

Gillian Merron: Vehicle re-licensing (car tax renewal) and a statutory off-road notification (SORN) service is provided over the counter in approximately 4,600 motor vehicle licensing (MVL) branches. Postal applications are handled in 120 of these offices.
	A photo card driving licence premium service, checking application forms and supporting identity documents, is provided in approximately 740 branches.
	A range of vehicle and driving licence forms, leaflets and booklets are held in all 14,000 branches.
	Over the last five years Post Office Ltd./DVLA has introduced a new electronic system for both vehicle re-licensing and making a statutory off-road notification (SORN) at MVL Post Office® branches through reading barcodes on application forms/registration certificates.
	Since August 2004, when re-licensing their vehicle or making a statutory off-road notification (SORN), customers have been able to notify a change of tax class into the disabled tax class at MVL Post Office® branches.
	The vehicles' re-licensing contract started inApril 2002 and terminates on 31 March 2007.
	The premium service contract started in November 2002 and terminates on 31 March 2007.
	Negotiations are under way with Post Office Ltd. to continue both services from April 2007 onwards.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he expects all trains to be accessible to disabled people by 2020.

Derek Twigg: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 requires that all trains are subject to rail vehicle accessibility regulations by no later than 1 January 2020. We are currently developing the necessary regulations and will be consulting on these in due course.
	The Secretary of State will, nevertheless, still have the power to grant exemptions from the regulations, even if these run past the "end date". Parliament accepted the necessity of this during the passage of the Bill for services, such as heritage and tourist railways and tramways, which might not be able to meet accessibility requirements in full due to engineering and other constraints.

Road Pricing

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures will be put in place under the proposed road pricing pilot to differentiate between those participating and not participating in the pilot for the purpose of measures taken to compensate those subject to road pricing.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 25 May 2006,  Official Report,column 1954W.

Transport Links (Yorkshire)

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve  (a) road and  (b) rail transportation links between the major towns and cities of Yorkshire.

Gillian Merron: The Department has made substantial investment in road transport related schemes in Yorkshire during the first local transport plan period (2001-06) and will sustain this investment throughout the second period, which runs until 2011. This includes significant investment by the Highways Agency on the motorway and trunk road network in the Yorkshire and Humber region over the last five years. This high level of investment is set to continue with, for example, the innovative £1.29 billion programme announced last year to reduce congestion on strategic routes in South and West Yorkshire.
	To enable better forward planning, the Government in July last year announced three year regional funding allocations to 2007-08 and planning assumptions for 2008-09 to 2015-16, amounting to over £1 billion for the Yorkshire and Humber region. These cover major (greater than £5 million) local transport plan schemes and major Highways Agency schemes other than on those on roads of the greatest strategic national and international importance.
	On rail investment, new services have been introduced between Sheffield and Leeds, and new rolling stock provided to increase capacity on routes in to Leeds and Bradford. In addition, the Secretary of State, through the rail re-franchising programme, has sought and will continue to seek improvements to rail links between the towns and cities of Yorkshire.

Antisocial Behaviour

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the implementation in Wales of measures introduced to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Nick Ainger: Through measures such as those included in the Respect Action Plan, we are building on the progress we have already made against anti-social behaviour and are now working to tackle its root causes.

Agency Staff

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what average hourly rate was paid by his Department to each employment agency for staff employed through agencies in 2005-06.

Peter Hain: The average hourly rates paid to employment agencies by the Wales Office in 2005-06 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   Per hour 
			 Adecco 14.19 
			 Kelly 11.28 
			 Acorn 9.76

Correspondence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, column 67W, on correspondence, what estimate he has made of the cost of answering the question; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: We do not record the staff time taken in replying to letters. To answer the earlier question, we would have needed to monitor staff time taken for a big enough sample of letters, from hon. Members and members of the public, over a long enough period, to give reasonably representative results. We estimated that the total cost of the exercise would exceed three days' work and cost more than £600.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his practice is regarding meeting, discussions with and taking into account the views and opinions of  (a) private individuals and  (b) representatives of organisations when drawing up and framing legislation to be introduced by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: The Department always seeks a full range of views when drawing up and framing legislation. Consultation is a key part of the policy-making process; both informal and formal. The Wales Office was an early adopter of pre-legislative scrutiny and the national health service (Wales) Bill was scrutinised during the 2001-02 session. Since then, a further three Bills introduced by my Department were published in draft for consultation: the Public Audit (Wales) Bill; the Transport (Wales) Bill; and, the Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Bill. A public consultation has always been conducted in parallel with the pre-legislative scrutiny process. My Department has also introduced two further Bills. My Department had conducted a public consultation jointly with the Welsh Assembly on the principles underlying the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Bill, and as there was general support for the proposals, further scrutiny was not considered necessary, and would only have further delayed the legislation. The Government of Wales Bill, which is currently before the House, was introduced without pre-legislative scrutiny, because the proposals need to be implemented for the May 2007 Assembly elections. Extensive consultation was however undertaken on the White Paper, which was published well in advance of this Bill being introduced. All of the Department's formal consultations also abide by the Code of Conduct on Consultation.

Energy Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what impact he expects the outcome of the energy review will have in Wales.

Peter Hain: The Energy Review will provide a framework for the energy policies of HMG and Assembly Government to meet the four goals set out by the 2003 Energy White Paper: To put ourselves on a path to cut the UK's CO2 emissions by some 60 per cent. by about 2050, with real progress by 2020; to maintain the reliability of energy supplies; to promote competitive markets in the UK and beyond, helping to raise the rate of sustainable economic growth and to improve our productivity; and to ensure that every home is adequately and affordably heated.

Police Force Restructuring

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent meetings he has had to discuss police force restructuring in Wales.

Peter Hain: I have had, and will continue to hold regular meetings with ministerial colleagues and key stakeholders on this important issue.

EU Water Projects

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the relationship between the EU Water Initiative and the EU Water Fund.

Hilary Benn: The EU Water Initiative (EUWI) is primarily a political rather than a financial initiative with five objectives, as follows:
	Reinforce political commitment to action;
	Make water governance effective;
	Improve water management through multi-stakeholder dialogue and co-ordination;
	Support regional co-operation, and
	Identify additional financial resources and mechanisms.
	The EU Water Fund, formally known as the EU Water facility (EUWF), was established, in part, as a response to the fifth objective of the EUWI; namely to identify additional financial resources and mechanisms, but there is no formal link between the two. In contrast to the EUWI, the EUWF is a funding mechanism. The Water Facility has made €500 million available for water and sanitation and aims to leverage additional funds from other sources.
	Progress to date has been slow, mainly because of lengthy procurement procedures, but approximately €230 million is currently being committed to co-fund 97 projects, valued overall at €412 million. An initial analysis of these selected proposals by the EUWF has found that by 2010 approximately 10 million people will benefit from access to drinking water and approximately 5 million people will benefit from access to basic sanitation. A second call for proposals has been launched this year and the full €500 million of the Water Facility will be committed by 2007.

Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the shortfall in funding for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on the ability of the fund to achieve its objectives.

Hilary Benn: The UK strongly supports the Global Fund and wants it to be effective in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. The Global Fund recently revised its resource needs to an estimated US$5.5 billion for 2006 and 2007. There is a current funding gap of US$2.1 billion for 2006 and 2007. Of this, US$1 billion is needed this year to fund a new round of grants which was launched by the board in April. The Mid-Term Review of the Global Fund (4-5 July 2006) will review the fund's performance and mobilise extra resources for 2006-07 to fill the funding gap. The UK has committed £359 million to the Global Fund (2002-08). We have doubled our pledge for 2006 and 2007 to £100 million in each of those years. This means that our overall share of support for the Global Fund at around 5 per cent. is consistent with our support over the 2001-05 period. The UK is meeting its fair share—other donors need to do the same.
	The Global Fund is only one part of our contribution to tackling AIDS, TB and malaria. The UK is committed to spend at least £1.5 billion on the global AIDS response over three years (2006-08), including our support to the Global Fund. We also provide support to the Roll Back Malaria (£7 million pledged to 2008) and Stop TB initiatives (over £49 million pledged from 1999 to 2007), as well as direct support to countries to help tackle diseases of poverty.
	The UK will continue to encourage other donors including the private sector to support the Global Fund. The Prime Minister has also recently made clear that we are committed to working with developing countries, NGOs and other partners to encourage the development of long term—10 year—health plans and to help ensure that predictable support is available from donors to support them. This will be key in helping countries strengthen their health systems and to be able to more effectively combat AIDS, TB and malaria.

Health Projects

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has committed for long-term health sector projects in developing countries for  (a) 2006-07,  (b) 2007-08 and  (c) 2008-09.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 3 July 2006
	DFID does not track long-term health sector spending because we provide pooled financial support for basic health services. But, as the Prime Minister recently made clear, we are committed to making good on our G8 promises, and a key part of this is to support developing countries with long-term, sustainable financing for health. We are currently working with developing countries, NGOs and other partners to encourage development of long-term—10 year—health plans and to ensure that predictable support is available from donors for them. This long-term support will provide poor countries with the security to make long-term investments and meet the costs of salaries, drugs, infrastructure and training. We have also increased our funding to multilateral organisations supporting countries strengthen their health services, including to the Global Fund and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). We are spearheading innovative efforts to secure significant additional resources for essential health care through the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, with the first bond issue due in the coming months.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact on the work of humanitarian agencies of Israel's targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in the military incursions commenced by Israel on 27 June.

Hilary Benn: DFID is in close contact with the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) which is monitoring the humanitarian situation in Gaza. All crossing points into Gaza have been closed for goods since 25 June, with the exception of Karni which was open for one day on 2 July. This enabled some humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza. Karni was closed again on 3 July.
	Only diplomats are freely able to enter Gaza. All international staff of humanitarian organisations not holding diplomatic passports, such as those working for non-governmental organisations, require prior co-ordination with the Israeli authorities. No Palestinian staff of humanitarian organisations are able to enter Gaza.
	DFID is helping UNOCHA by providing a movement and access specialist to help the UN coordinate with the Israeli authorities. Current information on humanitarian access to the West Bank and Gaza is available at http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact on  (a) Palestinian health facilities,  (b) the Palestinian economy and  (c) Palestinian water supply and sewage disposal of Israel's targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in the military incursions commenced by Israel on 27 June.

Hilary Benn: The main impact of recent military action has been to the loss of electrical power following damage to Gaza's only power plant. The closure of the Nahal Oz oil pipeline from 26 June to 2 July and greater difficulty in movement due to the destruction of three bridges providing north-south access have also had an effect. Hospitals in Gaza are maintaining services by using back up generators, although there are reports that supplies of some essential drugs and supplies are nearly finished. It is difficult for anyone from the south to access to the main referral hospital in Gaza city in the north.
	The Gaza economy has been severely constrained since March, when Hamas assumed power. Since then, the access point for exports from Gaza has been closed, trade with Israel has all but stopped and a very limited number of public sector salaries have been paid. Most of the water supply to Gaza is pumped from wells. Supplies are being continued by connecting pumps to generators, but there is concern that fuel for these generators is dependent on the Nahal Oz pipeline remaining open.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact on Palestinian schools of Israel's targeting of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in the military incursions commenced by Israel on27 June 2006.

Hilary Benn: Palestinian schools are currently on summer break and are scheduled to resume in September. There are as yet no reports that Israeli military activity has caused any damage to education institutions.

Child Care

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what facilities are made available to Members of House staff to assist with child care costs and arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The House provides child care vouchers to the value of £8 per child per day. The Commission favours the child care voucher scheme because of its flexibility and availability to staff wherever they are based. Vouchers are available for children up to and including age 11. The vouchers can be used to pay registered child minders, nurseries, playgroups, crèches, nannies, holiday play schemes for school age children, and close relatives who care for children, thus allowing staff a range of choices when making their child care arrangements. Information can be found on the parliamentary intranet. The scheme is currently under review to ensure the House continues to offer the most appropriate arrangements for the majority of staff.

Delegations

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many officials of the House accompanied delegations of hon. Members overseas in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: The Overseas Office (European Section) in the Clerk's Department comprises five staff, two or three of whom accompany the UK delegations of hon. Members and Peers to each plenary session of the inter-parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe, NATO, OSCE and the Western European Union. One or two European Section staff accompany hon. Members and Peers to some of the assemblies' committee meetings.
	Over the period from 1 June 2005 to 31 May 2006, eight different House staff were involved in undertaking these duties.
	Details of the numbers of staff accompanying select committees on visits abroad are given in the annual sessional return published by TSO which is available online, in the Vote Office and in the Library.
	The British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the British-American Parliamentary Group and the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body are funded directly by the Government; the staff who accompany delegations of hon. Members and Peers belonging to those organisations are not employed by the House of Commons Commission.

Senior Staff

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what percentage of the House's senior staff is women; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: As at 28 June 2006, 28.9 per cent. of staff in the Senior Commons Structure pay bands were women. This compares with some 48 per cent. for the House service overall. The proportion of women at senior levels is expected to continue to grow in the coming years.

September Sittings

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the cost was of the sittings of Parliament in September  (a) 2003 and  (b) 2004; how many contracts were changed due to the decision to sit in September in each year; and what resulting additional cost was imposed on the House in (i) wages and (ii) salaries.

Nick Harvey: The overall daily resource cost of running the House administration in 2003-04 and 2004-05 was £487,000 and £520,000 respectively. The difference in cost between sitting and non-sitting days is small, as the major costs of accommodation and staffing are not appreciably affected. Major works and other contracts were negotiated on the basis of the revised sitting arrangements in both September 2003 and 2004. It is therefore impossible to determine with any accuracy what the actual costs of alternative contracts might have been, but it is estimated that around £90,000 of additional works expenditure was incurred directly by the House sitting in each September period.

Staff Travel Allowances

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what allowances are made available to senior House staff to assist with travel costs in the event of a late sitting.

Nick Harvey: Senior House staff (in common with all staff) on official duty are entitled to use the late night transport service in the event of a late night sitting. A late night transport service is provided for staff on official duty if:
	the House rises between 11 pm (or if the motion for the Adjournment is moved at or after 10.30 pm) and 9 am the next morning; or
	a Committee rises between 11 pm and 9 am the next morning.
	If there is a major disruption to public transport, the late night transport service is provided from 10 pm irrespective of what time the House rises. The House meets the cost of journeys of 25 miles or less. Staff wishing to travel outside this radius are advised (at the time of booking) to enter in to a private arrangement with the driver and pay him/her the additional cost of the journey. Where practicable, taxis are shared between a number of staff.

Staffing Levels

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when staffing levels in the House were last reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The last significant review of staff numbers was a review of the needs of the Committee Office in 2003, conducted jointly by the House's Internal Review Service (IRS) and the National Audit Office. More generally, staffing levels are controlled by a budgetary mechanism rather than by limits on staff numbers. The IRS has recently completed the first stage of a review of staff grading. Subject to the views of the Administration Estimate Audit Committee, the second phase will be conducted later in the year.

Tours

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1250W, on tours, why it is not the Commission's practice to make available details of the use made by individual hon. Members of the organisation of tours of the House; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: Details of the use made by individual hon. Members of House facilities and services are regarded as personal data, and not appropriate for publication.

Parliamentary Papers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy to make copies of deposited papers available in  (a) the Vote Office and  (b) Printed Paper Office at the same time as copies are deposited in the Library; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 July 2006,  Official Report,column 729W by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House.

Social Exclusion

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what responsibilities her Department has for tackling social exclusion.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government leads on policy and delivery in addressing social exclusion and deprivation in deprived areas. The Department has responsibility for the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund which aims to narrow the gap between the 86 most deprived local authority areas and others. It has five key 'floor targets', which are: education, employment, crime, health and housing and physical environment.
	The new Social Exclusion Taskforce, based in the Cabinet office and formed from some previous Social Exclusion Unit staff, is currently undertaking work on an action plan looking at key priorities for the Prime Minister such as looked after children, mental health, teenage pregnancy and tomorrow's problem families.
	The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster chairs the new Social Exclusion Cabinet Committee on which the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government sits as a key member, reflecting the strong synergies between the work of the Cabinet Office and that of the DCLG.

Correspondence

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has power to insist that the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis answer the letter dated 15 August 2005 and reminder letters dated 10 October 2005, 13 December 2005 and 28 April 2006 from the right hon. Member for North East Hampshire concerning his constituent, Mr Jasdeep Bajwa.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 3 July 2006
	This is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

Crime Reporting

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether arrangements are in place  (a) in Redbridge,  (b) in Waltham Forest and  (c) in England and Wales for the public to report a crime to the police on-line; and if he will make astatement.

Tony McNulty: The national police portal (www.police.uk) provides the facility for members of the public to report 'non-emergency' crime and hate crime/incidents online. Event specific forms are available that seek information from the public. The information is then sent to the force in whose area the alleged crime is committed.

Guantanamo Bay

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedure is in place to allow hon. Members confidential access to each level of classified material on prisoners in Guantanamo Bay; and in what circumstances access would be denied.

Tony McNulty: Hon. Members can either write to the relevant minister to request material, or make a request to the relevant public body under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The Foreign Secretary leads on most matters concerning prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.
	Access to classified material may be refused in the interests of safeguarding national security

Life Sentences

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1035W, on life sentences, for which crimes each of the 53 life-sentence prisoners were convicted.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information detailing the offences the 53 life sentenced prisoners were convicted of, as recorded in paper files for the individuals concerned, is set out as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			  Automatic and discretionary life sentences  
			 Automatic 49 
			 Discretionary 4 
			 Total 53 
			   
			  Offence for which automatic life sentence was imposed (index offence)  
			 Manslaughter 7 
			 GBH(1) 31 
			 Possession of firearm(2) 2 
			 Robbery and Possession of firearm 9 
			 Total 49 
			   
			  Offence distribution for discretionary life sentences  
			 False imprisonment 1 
			 Manslaughter 1 
			 GBH(1) 2 
			 Total 4 
			 (1) Offences under section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (wounding, or causing grievous bodily harm, with intent).(2 )Offences under section 16 (possession of a firearm with intent to injure), section 17 (use of a firearm to resist arrest) or section 18 (carrying a firearm with intent) of the Firearms Act 1968. 
		
	
	The vast majority of the cases are automatic life sentences under the previous sentencing regime set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. This system meant that repeat offenders convicted of a second serious violent or sexual offence, were automatically sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial judge unless there were exceptional circumstances.
	This framework has since been replaced with Indeterminate Public Protection sentences provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offenders assessed as dangerous. These new sentences apply to a wider range of offences than those set out in the 1997 Act, and can be imposed for a first offence.
	Information on releases per year is given as follows:
	
		
			  Year of release  Number 
			 2001 1 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 6 
			 2004 18 
			 2005 18 
			 2006 8 
		
	
	The fixing of a "minimum term" arises only in the case of an offender sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment for murder. None of those released since 2000 and referred to in the previous answer were so sentenced.
	The minimum period of imprisonment for all non-mandatory life sentences is known as the "specified part". Details of the specified parts fixed by the trial judge in the cases in question are set out in the following table. At the end of the specified part the offender will be eligible to be considered for release by the parole board. The offender will only be released if the parole board consider it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined.
	
		
			  Table of specified parts 
			  Length of specified part—period to be served before eligible for consideration of release by parole board  Number of offenders since 2000 receiving this period of specified part 
			 One year or under 2 
			 Over one year—up to 18 months (inclusive) 2 
			 Over 18 months—up to two years (inclusive) 9 
			 Over two years—up to two years six months (inclusive) 9 
			 Over two years six months—up to three years (inclusive) 7 
			 Over three years—up to three years six months (inclusive) 9 
			 Over three years six months—up to four years (inclusive) 10 
			 Over four years—up to four years six months (inclusive) 5 
			 Over four years six months—up to five years (inclusive) 0 
			 Over five years—up to five years six months 0 
			 Over five years six months—up to six years (inclusive) 0 
			 Over six years 0

Life Sentences

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1035W, on life sentences, how many of the 53 prisoners were released in each year since 2000.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 20 June 2006
	Information detailing the offences the 53 life sentenced prisoners were convicted of, as recorded in paper files for the individuals concerned, in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
			  Automatic and discretionary life sentences  
			 Automatic 49 
			 Discretionary 4 
			 Total 53 
			   
			  Offence for which automatic life sentence was imposed (index offence)  
			 Manslaughter 7 
			 GBH(1) 31 
			 Possession of firearm(2) 2 
			 Robbery and possession of firearm 9 
			 Total 49 
			   
			  Offence distribution for discretionary life sentences  
			 False imprisonment 1 
			 Manslaughter 1 
			 GBH(1) 2 
			 Total 4 
			 (1 )Offences under section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (wounding, or causing grievous bodily harm, with intent).  (2 )Offences under section 16 (possession of a firearm with intent to injure), section 17 (use of a firearm to resist arrest) or section 18 (carrying a firearm with intent) of the Firearms Act 1968. 
		
	
	The vast majority of the cases are automatic life sentences under the previous sentencing regime set out in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. This system meant that repeat offenders convicted of a second serious violent or sexual offence, were automatically sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial judge unless there were exceptional circumstances.
	This framework has since been replaced with Indeterminate Public Protection sentences provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offenders assessed as dangerous. These new sentences apply to a wider range of offences than those set out in the 1997 Act, and can be imposed for a first offence.
	Information on releases per year is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Year of release  Number 
			 2001 1 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 6 
			 2004 18 
			 2005 18 
			 2006 8 
		
	
	The fixing of a "minimum term" arises only in the case of an offender sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment for murder. None of those released since 2000 and referred to in the previous answer were so sentenced.
	The minimum period of imprisonment for all non-mandatory life sentences is known as the "specified part". Details of the specified parts fixed by the trial judge in the cases in question are set out in the table below. At the end of the specified part the offender will be eligible to be considered for release by the parole board. The offender will only be released if the parole board consider it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined.
	
		
			  Table of specified parts 
			  Length of specified part - period to be served before eligible for consideration of release by parole board  Number of offenders since 2000 receiving this period of specified part 
			 One year or under 2 
			 Over one year—up to 18 months 2 
			 Over 18 months—up to two years 9 
			 Over two years—up to two years six months 9 
			 Over two years six months—up to three years 7 
			 Over three years—up to three years six months 9 
			 Over three years six months—up to four years 10 
			 Over four years—up to four years six months 5 
			 Over four years six months—up to five years — 
			 Over five years—up to five years six months — 
			 Over five years six months—up to six years — 
			 Over six years — 
			 (1 )Inclusive

Police

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there are in each ward in London; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 3 July 2006
	This information is not held by the Home Office. The table sets out the number of police community support officers in each London borough operational command unit on 31 March 2006 and is provided by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

Dance Facilities

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what central funding is available for dance facilities in local communities.

David Lammy: Central Government does not provide direct funding for local community dance facilities. However, funding can be made available through local government programmes and through Arts Council England revenue funding for arts organisations. Funding for dance for 2006-07 is £34 million rising to £35 million for 2007-08.
	Since 1994 the Arts Council has also invested£126.4 million into establishing a national infrastructure of dedicated dance venues across the country, including Yorkshire Dance in Leeds, the Laban Centre in London and Dance City in Newcastle.

Draft Legislation

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her practice is regarding meeting, discussing and taking into account the views and opinions of  (a) private individuals and  (b) representatives of organisations, when drawing up and framing legislation to be introduced by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport always seeks a full range of views when drawing up and framing legislation. Consultation is a key part of the policy-making process; both informal and formal. The Department holds regular meetings with representatives of the principal stakeholder groups for our policy areas and with relevant experts. Organisations and individuals can also contribute to the department's formal consultation which abide by the Code of Conduct on Consultation. Known stakeholders are alerted to the fact that a formal consultation is taking place. As required by the code, the DCMS then gives feedback on the responses received and on how the consultation process influenced the policy decision.

Gambling

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with  (a) her European Union counterparts and  (b) governments outside the EU on the regulation of internet gambling.

Richard Caborn: I outlined the Government's internal approach to regulating remote gambling when I met Jean-Francois Lamour, French Minister for Youth, the Sports and Community Life recently in Paris.
	The Secretary of State will shortly be writing to her counterparts inside and outside the European Union inviting them to participate in an international summit with a view to developing some international minimum standards for remote gambling regulation.

Post Office

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what services  (a) her Department and  (b) its associated public bodies (i) make available and (ii) have made available in the last five years through the Post Office network; through how many outlets the service is or was made available; and how many relevant transactions were undertaken in each case in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: DCMS does not have any of its services provided through the Post Office network.
	The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the only DCMS sponsored body that has used the services of the Post Office network in the last five years. It provides services for BBC TV Licensing including budget card payments and refunds from all of its available branches. However, I am unable to provide the total number of transactions because the information is not collected centrally by post offices relating to television licence fees.

Tennis

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisations are being supported with public funding to encourage aspiring tennis players to stay in the sport.

Richard Caborn: Significant levels of funding are being provided to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to support grass roots tennis, increase participation and support talented young athletes. Sport England is providing £8 million in exchequer funding over the period 2005-09 to support the strategic priorities contained in the LTA's Whole Sport plan. These priorities are to attract and retain juniors in the sport; to increase standards and develop better players through a strong network of tennis providers and to develop talented players and coaches to achieve sustained international success.
	Over the same period the LTA has also been provided with £9.4 million in lottery funding through the Community Club Development programme to assist them to develop community sports clubs in order to increase participation and widen access.
	The British Tennis Foundation has been awarded £455,000 in 2005-06 and £272,000 in 2006-07 to deliver the Government's PE, School Sport and Club Links programme. The programme aims is to increase the take up of sporting opportunities by five to 16-year-olds so that 85 per cent. of children by 2008 experience a minimum of two hours high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum each week.
	The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) has supported young tennis players to enable them to continue in their education while pursuing their sporting ambition. During 2004-05 and 2005-06, TASS supported 48 and 66 tennis players respectively.
	In addition four tennis players have received support through the TASS 2012 programme. Over £310,000 has been provided by TASS to help athletes with their sporting costs and support services.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 2511W, on Afghanistan, what the time interval was between notification of the incident to the local HQ and the arrival of the CU47 Chinook helicopter on the scene.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The CH-47 Chinook helicopter reaches the scene of the incident within the time period determined by the medical planning guidelines for emergency responses of this type. I am withholding the exact details as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the security of the armed forces. However, a recently completed post-incident report found no fault with the CASEVAC service.

Aldermaston

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which proposed new facilities and refurbishment projects at Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston are funded from the £1,050 million allocation announced on 19 July 2005.

Des Browne: The programme of extra investment at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, embraces a range of activity necessary to sustain Trident for its remaining in-service life. Investment will be made in essential accommodation improvements, business communications, infrastructure, laser physics, hydrodynamics, materials science, high performance computing, uranium component manufacture, fissile and special materials handling, explosives handling, and assembly/disassembly. In the absence of the ability to undertake live nuclear testing in the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty era, this investment is necessary to provide assurance that the existing Trident warhead stockpile remains safe and reliable.

Correspondence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average cost to his Department was of replying to a letter written  (a) by an hon. Member and  (b) by a member of the public in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (i) officials' time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 76-78WS.
	The information requested is not recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, however it is of note that the Department has received a total of, in excess of 15,000 letters from both hon. Members and members of the public over the past 12 months.

Defence Analytical Services Agency

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Reserve Forces data TSP07 for1 April will be available on the Defence Analytical Services Agency website.

Tom Watson: The anticipated publication date of Reserve Forces (TSP07) at 1 April 2006 is August 2006. Data will be made available on the Defence Analytical Services Agency website immediately upon publication. I will write to the hon. Member to confirm when this has been done.

Gulf War Veterans

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken by his Department towards commissioning  (a) endocrine studies and  (b) genetics studies of Gulf War veterans; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The Ministry of Defence is guided on its programme of research into Gulf veterans' illnesses by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and has undertaken studies into: the anthropology of "Gulf War Syndrome", cancer, changing health, mortality/morbidity, neuromuscular symptoms, paraoxonase, reproductive health, testing for squalene in vaccines and vaccines interactions. I am aware of a concern on the part of the Gulf Veterans Association and National Gulf Veterans and Families Association that research should be undertaken on possible endocrine and/or genetics aspects of the illnesses experience by veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf Conflict, as well as on the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate. We are awaiting detailed proposals which we will then refer to the MRC for their independent advice on the case for the Department commissioning such research, taking account of research already being undertaken elsewhere.

Gulf War Veterans

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on research into Gulf War Syndrome, broken down by area of expenditure.

Tom Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in another place on 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column WA99 by my noble Friend the Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Procurement (Lord Drayson) to the noble Lord, Lord Morris of Manchester.

Infantry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average cost is of  (a) recruitment of an infantryman and  (b) training an infantryman from recruitment to being ready for overseas deployment in an active formation in the latest period for which figures are available.

Tom Watson: The average cost of recruiting and training an Infantryman during financial year 2004-05, the latest period for which figures are available, were as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year 2004-05  Costs (£) 
			 Recruitment/selection 7,000 
			 Training phase 1 and 2—the Combat Infantryman Course 23,000 
			  Notes:  1. Costs are calculated on an accrual basis and include non cash items such as depreciation and cost of capital.  2. Only costs that are within the Army Recruiting and Training Division spend are included.  3. There has been no apportionment of indirect headquarters costs to the training and recruiting outputs 
		
	
	Training of infantry recruits is conducted at the Infantry Training Centre (ITC) Catterick. Since 2000 the infantry have had a combined phase 1 and 2 course at Catterick, the Combat Infantry Course, which prepares the infantryman for their first appointment with the field Army.
	Once an infantryman has completed his Combat Infantryman Course at ITC Catterick, he is ready to be deployed on operational service after the completion of the appropriate pre-deployment training, the cost of which is negligible.
	All infantrymen will also undergo phase 3 training during their career, known as Career Training, which provides the soldier with professional development and career progression once he has joined his regiment; this training is also conducted through the ITC and costs on average £8,000.

Iraq

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on changes in the security situation in Basra province since March.

Des Browne: The United Kingdom's area of responsibility in multi national division (south east) remains relatively quiet compared to other parts of the country, accounting for around 4 per cent. of overall attacks in Iraq. There has been a rise in violence in Basra, and there have been a number of developments since March that seek to address this. The provincial council has re-engaged with UK forces, allowing the recommencement of the full programme of operational activity for our forces in MND(SE). Most recently, we have secured important undertakings from the Iraqi Government on delivering a new security plan for Basra.

Joint Personnel Administration

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) regular and  (b) reserve army personnel have failed to be fully paid by the army personnel centre since the implementation of Pay 2000; what the total of the underpayments are; what assessment he has made of the reasons for the underpayments; whether he expects all payments to be made prior to the roll out of joint personnel administration; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: Pay 2000 is the generic term used to describe the incremental pay system for armed forces personnel. It arose as a consequence of the recommendations made in the independent review conducted by Sir Michael Bett in 1995, and was introduced in April 2001 for regular personnel, and November 2002 for reservists.
	Some 14,160 regular and reserve army personnel have been either under, or overpaid electronically at some time since, and as a result of the implementation of Pay 2000. The number of pay accounts in need of rectification was reduced to some 8,900 during 2004-05, and this figure has been reduced further to some 1,000 during 2006. I am confident that the remaining 1,000 pay accounts will be rectified prior to the roll out of joint personnel administration to the army.
	Arrangements ensure that any shortfalls are paid manually at unit level. The primary causes of the problem have been late changes in the interpretation of policy, computer programming difficulties and the ageing army computer systems.
	The total amount of electronic underpayments could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Meteorological Office

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will reconsider the Meteorological Office plans to withdraw its  (a) mountaincall and  (b) mountainfax services from the general public and mountain rescue services;
	(2)  what specialist services the meteorological service plans to provide for  (a) mountain rescue servicesand  (b) hillwalkers once the mountaincall and mountainfax services are withdrawn.

Tom Watson: holding answer 2 May 2006
	The same meteorological information previously provided by the mountaincall and mountainfax commercial services is now provided through a public service available free of charge on the Met. Office website. The service is also available through the Met. Office customer centre.

Military Co-operation with France

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the extent is of UK military co-operation with France.

Des Browne: holding answer 4 July 2006
	At the recent UK-France summit on 9 June, the United Kingdom and France re-affirmed their shared commitment to act together against evolving threats and challenges to our security and defence and to that of our allies and partners. An important element of this is the long-standing military co-operation between our armed forces, who currently work together on operations and regular exercises, and in the fields of concepts, doctrine and training. This collaboration is undertaken both bilaterally and through multilateral organisations such as NATO and the EU.
	Our armed forces co-operate on operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Bosnia. Other recent interaction includes:
	Routine integration of Royal Navy and French Navy ships into respective Task Group deployments, most recently in the UK Naval Task Group Deployment AQUILA 2006 and the French Carrier Task Group
	AGAPANTHE 06, which deployed to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Gulf regions.
	British Army staff officers attached to the French Rapid Reaction Corps Headquarters in Lille where they contribute to French work on achieving NATO Response Force readiness.
	The Royal Air Force and French Air Force combining to provide a Joint Force Air Component Headquarters, and substantial force elements, for NATO Response Fortes 5and 6.
	Agreement to co-operate in establishing a network of Peace Support' Training Centres in Africa.
	This close and highly valued military relationship is fostered through regular dialogue at all levels from the Chief of the Defence Staff downwards and underpinned by bilateral agreements and letters of intent. There is also a network of exchange and liaison officers across all three services. The continuation of our excellent military relationship with France will remain important as we work together to tackle the challenges ahead.

Nuclear Deterrent

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he was informed of the proposed content relating to retention of the nuclear deterrent in the long-term of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Mansion House speech prior to its delivery.

Des Browne: holding answer 4 July 2006
	I have regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a range of issues.

Search and Rescue Services

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 2052W, on search and rescue services, what timetable he has set for  (a) the assessment to be completed,  (b) further announcements to be made,  (c) invitations to tender to run the services and  (d) other matters relevant to the future operation of search and rescue services in the UK.

Adam Ingram: The timing for the competition for UK Helicopter Search and Rescue capability is set out in the Official Journal of the European Union Notice(No 2006/S 90-096731) of 12 May 2006. This advises that it is planned to complete the Competitive Dialogue process in mid 2008, at which time the final invitation to tender is planned to be issued. The final assessment of basing solutions and all other relevant matters will be completed after this, with announcements made when the decisions are mature.

Chief Crown Prosecutors

Keith Vaz: To ask the Solicitor-General how many chief Crown prosecutors in England and Wales were from black and Asian minorities in each year since 1997.

Mike O'Brien: The number of chief Crown prosecutors in England and Wales that were from black and ethnic minorities, for which data are available, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Month/year  Item  BME  White  Total percentage 
			 April 2002 Number 4 36  
			  Percentage 10.0 90.0 100 
			  
			 April 2003 Number 3 40  
			  Percentage 7.0 93.0 100 
			  
			 April 2004 Number 4 36  
			  Percentage 10.0 90.0 100 
			  
			 April 2005 Number 6 40  
			  Percentage 13.0 87.0 100 
			  
			 April 2006 Number 7 38  
			  Percentage 15.6 84.4 100

Chief Crown Prosecutors

Keith Vaz: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps are being taken by his Department to ensure that the number of chief Crown prosecutors in England and Wales from black and Asian minorities better reflects the ratio in the population.

Mike O'Brien: In common with other Whitehall Departments, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has produced a diversity delivery plan to support the delivery of targets across the senior civil service (which includes the chief Crown prosecutor grade) range of diversity categories by 2008. As at April 2006, the CPS has seven black and minority ethnic (BME) chief Crown prosecutors (of which two are of Asian origin). This BME total represents 15.6 per cent. of staff at that level within the service.

Iraq

Chris Mullin: To ask the Solicitor-General when he was first informed that 'wetting' was official policy for dealing with looters in Basra; what witness statements to this effect were disclosed to Crown counsel; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I have never been informed that "wetting" is official policy for dealing with looters in Basra. No witness statements saying that "wetting" is official policy for dealing with looters in Basra were disclosed to Crown counsel either prior to the trial of soldiers relating to the death of an Iraqi youth in the Shatt al Basra River or since the conclusion of these proceedings.
	I am told that during the trial three witnesses gave evidence as to a practice of putting detained looters in water which appears to refer to "wetting". Mr. Daniel O'Connell formerly a Lieutenant Platoon Commander said there was a practice of making looters wet which was discussed at the company "O" Group meetings; however it was not formal policy. He indicated that he had witnessed one such incident of looters being put into a dyke where they were waist high and in no real danger.
	Major Peter MacMullen the Company Commander said that the looting problem was discussed at Battle group meetings and that he was aware of a range of sanctions that were being deployed, which included people being put into water so that they would be left cold, wet and miserable.
	Mr. Niall Brennan, formerly the Company Second in Command, said he knew of other companies throwing looters into the Shatt al Arab River. He did not consider they were in danger of drowning and claimed that he did not consider this dangerous because it involved the use of minimum force.
	Despite this evidence, coming from higher up the chain of command, the evidence given at trial made it clear that neither the commanders on the ground nor the individual soldiers were aware of such a policy or practice (officially sanctioned or otherwise). Not one of the accused raised this in their witness statements or interviews under caution. None of the members of their platoon or section who gave evidence knew of such a policy or had even heard of looters being put into water-knowledge of the policy, if one did indeed exist, was restricted to the middle echelons of the chain of command only.
	During the course of the trial a statement was obtained from the then Battle Group Commander, Brigadier Riddle-Webster, who said that the practice of "wetting" had never been discussed and had he heard of such a practice he would have put a stop to it immediately since he regarded it as illegal, dangerous and immoral. However due to legal reasons this was not put before the Board.

Private Members' Bills

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General which Private Members' Bills were drafted by his Department in each Session since 1997; and which subsequently received Royal Assent.

Mike O'Brien: Members will consider a range of possible subjects before introducing their Private Members' Bills.
	Government draftsmen do draft some Bills in advance which are available as one of the options for Members to consider before they make their selection.
	However, Members may make subsequent amendments or revisions to a Government drafted Bill, or use it as the basis for a Private Member's Bill in the future.
	The information requested is therefore not collected.

Advertising Campaigns

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advertising campaigns his Department has run since July 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Jim Fitzpatrick: For expenditure on advertising campaigns run by the Department through COI from July 2004 until April 2006, the figures are as follows. Figures include Small Business Service, but exclude VAT.
	(The Department does not centrally collect information on other campaigns, including those by NDPBs, and to do so would entail disproportionate cost.)
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   Amount (£) 
			 Consumer Direct 2005-06 1,277,850 
			 SBS Business Link 2005-06 1,502,301 
			 National Minimum Wage 2005-06 328,603 
			 Directgov—DTI Employee Franchise 2005-06 117,690 
			 Total 3,226,445 
		
	
	
		
			  2004-05 
			   Amount (£) 
			 Consumer Direct 2004-05 706,488 
			 SBS Business Link 2004-05 552,712 
			 Import Licence Announcements 2004-05 74,300 
			 National Minimum Wage 2004-05 315,754 
			 Renewable Energy (Advertorials) 2004-05 15,542 
			 Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2004-05 30,494 
			 Firework Safety 2004-05 188,480 
			 DTI—Dispute Resolution (media only) 81,768 
			 SBS Press Media Buying Costs 2004-05 3,255 
			 Total 1,968,793

Debt Collectors

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its (i) executive agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies use the services of private debt collectors.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department does not make use of private debt collectors. Of the executive agencies, Companies House uses the services of a debt collector in connection with the administration of the penalties raised on companies for late filing of accounts. The insolvency service uses agents for the collection of book debts (monies owed by creditors to bankrupts and companies in liquidation) where the Official Receiver is trustee or liquidator and to collect costs from directors who are disqualified as a result of a court hearing.
	Among the Department's non-departmental public bodies, the use of private debt collectors is limited to a number of the research councils and regional development agencies as follows:
	The Arts and Humanities Research Council has made limited use of an agency to help recover outstanding debts;
	The Medical Research Council has used an agent to trace debtors, conduct correspondence, manage recovery schedules and where necessary prepare cases for County Court recovery;
	Advantage West Midlands has used a firm of solicitors for collecting sales ledger debts over 500;
	The London Development Agency has not had the occasion to employ any debt collectors, but has used firms of certified bailiffs with regard to repossessions, and these firms also provide this form of service. In addition the LDA outsources some of its estate management service to managing agents, and they have used certified bailiffs to recover bad debts;
	The North West Development Agency uses certified bailiffs to recover unpaid rent via management agents.
	The South West Regional Development Agency uses an agency to collect debts from tenants who owe the Agency rent;
	Yorkshire Forward has used agents to collect debts such as non-payment of rent and to pursue small claims.

DNA Sequences

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what regulations are in place to restrict the purchase of sequences of DNA; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to review the regulations governing the sale and possession of sequences of DNA that may be used to prepare viruses;
	(3)  what restrictions his Department places on the sale of DNA sequences to private individuals and organisations whose primary purpose is not published research.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no specific regulations that govern the sale, supply, or purchase of DNA sequences. The potential chemical hazards associated with the sequence itself would be covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended); if DNA sequences were to be used to create a biological agent, the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2000 (as amended) are likely to apply. These provide for a high level of protection for human health and the environment (including animal and plant health). In addition, the Specified Animal Pathogens Order 1998 (SAPO), administered by Defra, regulates possession of nucleic acid derived from any animal pathogen specified under SAPO. In all cases the relevant containment and operating requirements laid down by HSE/Defra would need to be met.
	Provisions in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 place an obligation on managers of laboratories and other premises holding specified pathogens or toxins to notify the authorities and to comply with the security requirements which the police may impose.
	There is a wide range of legitimate uses to which DNA sequences may be put and the imposition of onerous controls could discourage valuable scientific research and industry use. The Government do not believe that it is necessary to require suppliers of DNA sequences to be licensed or for them to screen customers or check the intended use of the sequences. But we will continue to monitor the situation as the relevant technologies develop.

Electoral Roll Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the extent to which  (a) foreign nationals not from the Commonwealth or the Irish Republic,  (b) failed asylum seekers and  (c) illegal immigrants are fraudulently on the electoral roll in order to obtain consumer credit.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	We do not hold information as to the reasons why persons may apply to be on the electoral register other than for the purposes of voting in elections. In respect of the numbers of those persons specified in the question who may be on the electoral register, I explained in my previous answer on 12 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1045W, that this information is not collected. Electoral registers are available for public inspection and anyone who believes that an ineligible person has been included may notify the ERO who may then make further inquiries as to the eligibility of that individual. Currently, it is an offence to fail to supply information to the ERO and knowingly supply false information on the annual canvass form.
	The Electoral Administration Bill, strengthens the objection process and creates a new offence of supplying false information of any kind to an ERO, or failing to supply information, in connection with registration, at any time. The electoral register does not specify the immigration or asylum status of individuals entered on it; however, the addition of a "nationality" box in the registration form does provide an opportunity for EROs to determine the eligibility of an applicant for inclusion in the register on the basis of their stated nationality.

Employment Act

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many requests for flexible working have been made in each region since the relevant provisions of the Employment Act 2002 came into force; and how many were granted.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The table shows the proportion of employees that have requested to work flexibly and the resulting acceptance rate, for each region/nation in Great Britain. These figures are from the second Flexible Working Survey (2005).
	The new employment rights introduced on 6 April 2003 gave parents of children under six and disabled children under 18 the right to request flexible working. It is not known how many employees have requested flexible working since the right was introduced. The second Flexible Working Survey was conducted in January 2005 and respondents were asked to consider their last two years of employment.
	
		
			  Employee requests to work flexibly over last two years (percentage) 
			  Nation and region  Employee requests for flexible working  Acceptance (fully and partially) 
			 Great Britain 14 81 
			 England 14 80 
			 North East 13 (1)— 
			 North West 13 88 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 12 69 
			 East Midlands 16 82 
			 West Midlands 10 79 
			 East of England (1)— (1)— 
			 London 15 81 
			 South East 14 82 
			 South West 17 79 
			 Wales 14 (1)— 
			 Scotland 12 87 
			 (1) Reliable figures are not available due to small sample sizes.   Source:  Second Flexible Working Employee Survey 2005

Heavy Vehicle Fitter Apprenticeships

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many heavy vehicle fitter Apprenticeships have been completed in  (a) England and  (b) Merseyside in each of the last five years, broken down by sex.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	A key success criterion for Apprenticeships from the outset has been that the programme should be open to all young people regardless of gender, ethnic origin or disability and it should provide equal access particularly to those from potentially socially disadvantaged or marginalised groups. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has worked hard to establish and build on the Apprenticeship Frameworks and procedures required for successful equality. The Apprenticeships Approvals Group (independently chaired by the Skills for Business Network ie Sector Skills Council led) have a key role to play in ensuring that Apprenticeship Frameworks make all reasonable adjustments to maximise participation from diverse groups.
	The LSC maintain a website detailing starts, leavers and completions of individual frameworks http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/partners/frameworks/apprenticeshipsdata/. However, published figures for completions are not broken down by geographical area or sex. For this reason Mark Haysom, the council's Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Rob Wye, dated 28 June 2006:
	I am responding on behalf of Mark Haysom, due to him currently being on annual leave, to your Parliamentary Question that asked the number of completed Heavy Vehicle Fitter Apprenticeships in England and Greater Merseyside, broken down by gender in each of the last 5 years.
	The Vehicle Fitting Apprenticeship framework was implemented on 1st September 2005. This is in effect its first year for apprentices to enrol onto and as yet there is no usable framework completion data at any geographical level.
	Prior to 1st September 2005 there were more generic Apprenticeship frameworks in operation for the Retail Motor Industry. An analysis of these framework completions where the NVQ within the framework is for "Vehicle Fitting" shows the following results,
	
		
			  Table 1: Automotive Industry Frameworks completed with a Vehicle Fitting NVQ as the main aim( 1) 
			   Female  Male 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			  Greater Merseyside 
			 2002/03 0 0 10 100 
			 2003/04 0 0 10 100 
			 2004/05 0 0 30 100 
			  
			  England 
			 2002/03 0 2 60 98 
			 2003/04 0 1 120 99 
			 2004/05 0 0 240 99 
			 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 for reasons of disclosure   Source:  LSC WBLILR. 
		
	
	Specific information regarding heavy vehicle fitting is not available at framework level or at NVQ qualification level, hence this response can only look at vehicle fitting in general.
	The Learning and Skills Council publishes regular statistical information on Apprenticeships including framework completion data on its website (www.apprenticeships.org.uk). The information is provided for each Apprenticeship framework and as such the volume of completers nationally will be provided in future updates.
	Consistent and high quality data is only available from the first full academic year following the commencement of the Learning and Skills Council in April 2001. For this reason the table above only shows information for the past three full academic years.
	I trust this provides the information you require.
	
		
			  LSC-funded adults in FE in 2005/06 with level 2 entitlement 
			  Ethnicity  Participation  Percentage of total participation 
			 Asian or Asian British 1,900 7 
			 Black or Black British 2,400 8 
			 Chinese 100 0 
			 Mixed 700 2 
			 White 22,100 78 
			 Any other 550 2 
			 Not known/not provided 650 2 
			 Total 28,400 100 
			  Source:  F01 2005/06 ILR Results are rounded to the nearest 50 volumes <10 are suppressed 
		
	
	
		
			  LSC-funded adults in FE in 2005/06 with level 2 entitlement 
			  Gender  Participation  Percentage of total participation 
			 Female 16,350 58 
			 Male 12,050 42 
			 Total 28,400 100 
			  Source: F01 2005/06 ILR Results are rounded to the nearest 50 Volumes <10 are suppressed 
		
	
	
		
			  LSC-funded adults in FE in 2005/06 with level 2 entitlement 
			  Disability  Participation  Percentage of total participation 
			 Visual impairment 50 0 
			 Hearing impairment 150 1 
			 Disability affecting mobility 100 0 
			 Other physical disability 50 0 
			 Other medical condition (for example epilepsy, asthma, diabetes) 350 1 
			 Emotional/behavioural difficulties 50 0 
			 Mental ill health 150 1 
			 Temporary disability after illness (for example post-viral) — 0 
			 Profound complex disabilities — 0 
			 Multiple disabilities 100 0 
			 Other 250 1 
			 No disability 24,400 86 
			 Not known/information not provided 2,750 10 
			 Total 28,400 100 
			  Source:  F01 2005/06 ILR Results are rounded to the nearest 50 Volumes <10 are suppressed

Advertising Campaigns

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advertising campaigns his Department has run since July 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department's records are retained on a financial year basis, and it is only possible to provide annual information on advertising campaigns from April 2004 to present. The following tables show advertising campaign expenditure broken down by year and title:
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  Advertising campaign title  £000 
			 Education Maintenance Allowance 4,511 
			 DfES Supermarket Sweep 502 
			 Sure Start 133 
			 Adult Basic Skills—Gremlins 5,875 
			 Teenage Pregnancy 1,087 
			 Student Finance 1,224 
			 Fast Track Teaching 73 
			 Foundation Degrees 556 
			 DfES Childcare 295 
			 Need to Know 400 
			 DfES Parents Centre 182 
			 Total 14,838 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  Advertising campaign title  £000 
			 Sure Start 3 
			 Education Maintenance Allowance 1,499 
			 Teenage Pregnancy 1,497 
			 Childcare Recruitment 661 
			 Adult Basic Skills - Gremlins 1,818 
			 Student finance 3,271 
			 DfES Parents Centre 149 
			 Every Child Matters 2 
			 Parenting Pilot 637 
			 Foundation Degrees 869 
			 Fast Track Teaching 19 
			 DfES Education and Learning Launch 204 
			 Need to Know 118 
			 Total 10,747 
		
	
	All figures in the tables are exclusive of VAT. It would only be able to break down information from July 2004 at disproportionate cost.

Bullying

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Education and Skills how many incidents of homophobic bullying were recorded by  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: We are unable to provide this information as we do not collect these data centrally. However, individual schools may record incidents of bullying, including homophobic bullying, and some local authorities keep records for their own area.
	We take the issue of homophobic bullying in schools very seriously and we gave an undertaking in the White Paper, "Higher Standards, Better Education for All" to issue guidance on bullying motivated by prejudice, including homophobia.
	During Anti Bullying week in 2004 we published "Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools: a review and implications for action", by the Thomas Coram Research Unit, which looked at three areas: behaviour and bullying; teaching and learning about sexual orientation and relationships; and employment issues. It collates, summarises and assesses both peer reviewed research material, from this country and abroad, and less formal work conducted by bodies active in this area. It reports the views of a wide range of organisations, 28 in all, with an interest in this area to paint a picture of how the issues are currently perceived. The report is available on the DfES website http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research and the findings will be used to inform future work in this area.

Children's Centres

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres there are in each local authority area in England.

Beverley Hughes: The number of Sure Start Children's Centres in each local authority area is listed in the following table:
	
		
			  Region  Local authority  Number of centres  designated as at30 June 2006 
			 East of England Bedfordshire 7 
			 East of England Cambridgeshire 3 
			 East of England Essex 9 
			 East of England Hertfordshire 6 
			 East of England Luton 9 
			 East of England Norfolk 11 
			 East of England Peterborough 5 
			 East of England Southend on Sea 3 
			 East of England Suffolk 6 
			 East of England Thurrock 3 
			 East Midlands Derby 4 
			 East Midlands Derbyshire 10 
			 East Midlands Leicester 9 
			 East Midlands Leicestershire 3 
			 East Midlands Lincolnshire 10 
			 East Midlands Northamptonshire 3 
			 East Midlands Nottingham City 3 
			 East Midlands Nottinghamshire 16 
			 East Midlands Rutland — 
			 London Barking and Dagenham 5 
			 London Barnet 1 
			 London Bexley 4 
			 London Brent 4 
			 London Bromley 1 
			 London Camden 9 
			 London Croydon 3 
			 London Ealing 10 
			 London Enfield 3 
			 London Greenwich 9 
			 London Hackney 5 
			 London Hammersmith and Fulham 5 
			 London Haringey 10 
			 London Harrow 1 
			 London Havering — 
			 London Hillingdon 1 
			 London Hounslow 3 
			 London Islington 9 
			 London Kensington and Chelsea 4 
			 London Kingston upon Thames — 
			 London Lambeth 10 
			 London Lewisham 3 
			 London Merton 1 
			 London Newham 5 
			 London Redbridge 4 
			 London Richmond Upon Thames — 
			 London Southwark 9 
			 London Sutton 1 
			 London Tower Hamlets 9 
			 London Waltham Forest 5 
			 London Wandsworth 3 
			 London Westminster 5 
			 North East Darlington 4 
			 North East Durham 16 
			 North East Gateshead 10 
			 North East Hartlepool 5 
			 North East Middlesbrough 8 
			 North East Newcastle upon Tyne 10 
			 North East North Tyneside 5 
			 North East Northumberland 9 
			 North East Redcar and Cleveland 6 
			 North East South Tyneside 7 
			 North East Stockton-on-Tees 4 
			 North East Sunderland 11 
			 North West Blackburn with Darwen 9 
			 North West Blackpool 6 
			 North West Bolton 5 
			 North West Bury 2 
			 North West Cheshire 5 
			 North West Cumbria 16 
			 North West Halton 5 
			 North West Knowsley 7 
			 North West Lancashire 30 
			 North West Liverpool 11 
			 North West Manchester 18 
			 North West Oldham 1 
			 North West Rochdale 3 
			 North West Salford 5 
			 North West Sefton 4 
			 North West St. Helens 5 
			 North West Stockport 1 
			 North West Tameside 4 
			 North West Trafford 2 
			 North West Warrington 3 
			 North West Wigan 4 
			 North West Wirral 5 
			 South East Bracknell Forest — 
			 South East Brighton and Hove 4 
			 South East Buckinghamshire 1 
			 South East East Sussex 6 
			 South East Hampshire 7 
			 South East Isle of Wight 5 
			 South East Kent 13 
			 South East Medway 4 
			 South East Milton Keynes 2 
			 South East Oxfordshire 4 
			 South East Portsmouth 6 
			 South East Reading 3 
			 South East Slough 3 
			 South East Southampton 4 
			 South East Surrey 3 
			 South East West Berkshire — 
			 South East West Sussex 6 
			 South East Windsor and Maidenhead — 
			 South East Wokingham — 
			 South West Bath and North East Somerset 1 
			 South West Bournemouth 2 
			 South West Bristol, City of 9 
			 South West Cornwall 20 
			 South West Devon 6 
			 South West Dorset 4 
			 South West Gloucestershire 8 
			 South West North Somerset 1 
			 South West Plymouth 8 
			 South West Poole — 
			 South West Somerset 14 
			 South West South Gloucestershire — 
			 South West Swindon 3 
			 South West Torbay 2 
			 South West Wiltshire — 
			 West Midlands Birmingham 18 
			 West Midlands Coventry 8 
			 West Midlands Dudley 4 
			 West Midlands Herefordshire 4 
			 West Midlands Sandwell 7 
			 West Midlands Shropshire 2 
			 West Midlands Solihull 3 
			 West Midlands Staffordshire 5 
			 West Midlands Stoke-on-Trent 8 
			 West Midlands Telford and Wrekin 6 
			 West Midlands Walsall 6 
			 West Midlands Warwickshire 9 
			 West Midlands Wolverhampton 8 
			 West Midlands Worcestershire 9 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Barnsley 13 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Bradford 7 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Calderdale 4 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Doncaster 14 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside East Riding of Yorkshire 4 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Kingston upon Hull, City of 8 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Kirklees 6 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Leeds 21 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside North East Lincolnshire 4 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside North Lincolnshire 6 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside North Yorkshire 4 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Rotherham 7 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Sheffield 11 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside Wakefield 4 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside York — 
			 Total  867

Departmental Emissions

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the total carbon emission of his Department in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: A complete answer cannot be provided as validated carbon emission information is only available from 1999. The figures presented in the following table are based on kilograms of carbon emitted per square metre of let table area in our HQ buildings.
	
		
			 ( 1) kgC/m2 
			 1990-2000 28 
			 2000-01 30 
			 2001-02 29 
			 2002-03 28 
			 2003-04 32 
			 2004-05 31 
			 (1 )These figures exclude carbon emissions from road vehicles used for Government administrative operations as this information is not held

Departmental Fax Machines

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many department-ownedfax machines have been issued to his staff in the last12 months; to whom they were issued; and at whatcost.

Parmjit Dhanda: A complete answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost, but we do know that11 fax machines were purchased at a cost of £4,137.17 in the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006.

Departmental Finance Directors

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Education and Skills what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the finance director of his Department.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Director General of Finance of the Department for Education and Skills is Jonathan Thompson.
	He is a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), a member of the CIPFA Council and a member of the Chartered Institute of Management.
	He was appointed in May 2006. He was previously Director of Finance of Ofsted, and before that Director of Finance and Resources at North Somerset council. Prior to that he was senior public sector services manager with Ernst and Young.

Judicial Review

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on what occasions an  (a) individual and  (b) organisation has applied for a judicial review of decisions of his Department in each year since 1997; and what the outcome was of each case where proceedings have been completed.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is notheld centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

School Buses

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will set an upper limit on charges local education authorities are permitted to make for school bus journeys under the school transport section of the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

Jim Knight: The Education and Inspections Bill includes provisions that will allow a small number of 'Pathfinder' authorities to pilot innovative school travel arrangements. While it will be up to local authorities themselves to draw up a charging policy, the draft guidance to potential 'Pathfinder' authorities, which has been published on the Department's website, suggests a maximum charge of £1 per day.

Sexual Health Education

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what expenditure is planned for sexual health education in schools in each of the next three years.

Parmjit Dhanda: It is for local authorities and schools to decide the level of resources required to support sexual health education in schools taking account of local needs. We are working to improve the quality of sexual health education in maintained schools. The Department for Education and Skills, together with Department for Health, is supporting the PSHE certification programme for teachers with over£2 million in 2006-07. In addition, both Departments are supporting the national healthy schools programme with £12.3 million of funding in 2006-07. These programmes support schools in delivering sexual health education as part of broader programmes.

Teachers' Pension Scheme

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures the Department has put in place to assist pension transferability of public pensions for members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Parmjit Dhanda: All public service schemes pay cash equivalent transfer values to other pension schemes in respect of accrued rights in compliance with pensions law. Under the Fair Deal for Staff Pensions there isa requirement to transfer pension rights when employments are transferred to the private sector under Public Private Partnerships/Public Finance Initiatives and subsequent transfers for former public servants. Public service scheme members can also transfer accrued pension rights by way of the Public Sector Transfer Club. The Club is a network of public and private sector occupational pension schemes which makes it easier for employees who move between employers covered by separate participating schemes to transfer their accrued pension rights.

Unemployment (Yeovil)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department plans to take to encourage long-term unemployed peoplein Yeovil constituency to return to education and training.

Phil Hope: Responsibility for encouraging long-term unemployed people to return to education and training is shared between the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.
	Both Departments, along with their respective delivery agencies Jobcentre Plus (JCP) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), are working closely together to ensure that long term unemployed people have the skills they need to secure sustainable and productive jobs. There has already been significant progress in joint working between the LSC and JCP and a joint delivery plan is currently being developed which will cover the Yeovil area in order to meet local employment and skills needs.
	The Government's skills strategy sends out a strong signal about the priority we attach to helping adults with few or no qualifications to attain a platform of wider employability skills. All those on jobseeker's allowance or income related benefits and their dependents receive free tuition in further education, in addition to the support available through their local JCP office. Unemployed people also have access to in-depth advice about their education and training options through the Learndirect one-stop telephone and on-line advice service.
	The Government do, however, recognise that more needs to be done to tackle long term unemployment and published a Green Paper in January 2006 'A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work' including measures to help low skilled adults secure employment through the 'New Deal for Skills'. These include piloting skills coaching in a number of JCP districts and our latest evidence shows that skills coaching is helping long-term unemployed people improve their employability skills.
	In addition, the Chancellor announced in his Budget Report that Lord Leitch's review of skills would be extended to include better alignment of measuresto tackle worklessness to support labour market flexibility, better employment outcomes and greater progression to productive and sustainable jobs for those with skill needs. We expect Lord Leitch's report this autumn and my Department looks forward to working with the Department of Work and Pensions to take forward Lord Leitch's proposals.

Conservation

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice his Department gives to competent authorities intending to carry out appropriate assessment of plans or projects likely to affect European wildlife sites with regard to consulting  (a) statutory bodies,  (b) other interested parties and  (c) the general public; and whether this advice differs according to whether this assessment is carried out under regulation 3 or regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 (as amended).

Barry Gardiner: English Nature provides advice to competent authorities intending to carry out appropriate assessment of plans or projects likely to affect European wildlife sites, with regard to consulting statutory bodies and the general public. This is done through their Habitats Regulations Guidance Note 1 ("The Role of the Appropriate Assessment in Regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994"). This guidance relates to assessment being carried out under regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994. The Guidance Note does not provide specific advice for consulting other interested parties, though it does advise that consulting the general public, 'may include taking the opinion of others with relevant knowledge or expertise'.
	This advice in relation to consulting statutory bodies, other interested parties and the general public does not specifically relate to the obligations placed upon competent authorities under regulation 3 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 (as amended).
	My Department is currently considering what further guidance is necessary in relation to obligations placed upon competent authorities regarding appropriate assessment of plans and projects. These considerations will be informed by the results of the public consultation on Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 due to end on30 June 2006.

Conservation

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how competent authorities are required to report the results of appropriate assessment of plans or projects under the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 (as amended) to  (a) the UK Government,  (b) the European Commission and  (c) the Scottish Executive; and whether the appropriate assessments are public documents.

Barry Gardiner: There is no requirement in the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 for competent authorities to report the results of appropriate assessment carried out under regulation 48 of these Regulations to (a), (b) or (c) if the authority concludes the plan or project will not adversely affect the integrity of a European site.
	Where a competent authority other than the Secretary of State proposes to agree to a plan or project under regulation 49 (that is where a plan or project is considered necessary in the overriding public interest), notwithstanding a negative assessment of the implications for a European site, they must notify the Secretary of State in England. There is no requirement under the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994 to report the outcome of the appropriate assessment in these circumstances to the European Commission. As a matter of policy however, the Secretary of State reports the outcome of such assessments in the above circumstances to the European Commission, including details of how appropriate compensatory measures have been secured. Equivalent provisions exist in Scotland. Appropriate assessments carried out under the planning regime would normally constitute public documents.
	Appropriate assessments carried out under other consent regimes would normally, where not already in the public domain, be available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Conservation

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answers of 30 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1098W, on the EU Habitats Directive, whether competent authorities proposing to agree a plan or project of a type not specified by Regulations 54 to 85 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994 (as amended) notwithstanding a negative assessment of the implications for a European site are required (a) to notify the Secretary of State and  (b) not to agree to the plan or project for a period of 21 days unlessthe Secretary of State notifies them that they maydo so.

Barry Gardiner: Competent authorities proposing to agree to a plan or project not specified by Regulations 54 to 85 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994, notwithstanding a negative assessment of the implications for a European site, are (a) not required to notify the Secretary of State and (b) not required to agree to the plan or project for a period of 21 days unless the Secretary of State notifies them that they may do so.

Correspondence Costs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost to his Department was of replying to a letter written  (a) by an hon. Member and  (b) by a member of the public in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much of that sum is accountedfor by (i) officials' time, (ii) cost of stationery and(iii) postage costs.

Barry Gardiner: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The Report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 76-78WS.
	The information requested is not recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Dairy Industry

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the dairy supply chain forum.

Barry Gardiner: The Dairy Supply Chain Forum, now chaired by my noble Friend Lord Rooker, meets on a quarterly basis. Recent discussions have covered: the environmental challenges facing the dairy sector; barriers to innovation; the National Farmers' Union's paper, "A Vision for the Dairy Industry"; the Milk Development Council's paper, "Raw milk contracts and relationships—the need for change"; and animal health and welfare initiatives.
	Notes of the meetings are available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/milk/supplychainforum/dscfworkofforum.htm

Departmental Press Office

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many  (a) black and Asian and  (b) other people are employed in his Department's press office.

Barry Gardiner: The Department currently has31 members of staff employed in the Press Office, of which 15 have declared they are white, three black and Asian, and 13 are unknown/undeclared.
	Information on the ethnicity is collected on a voluntary basis.

English Nature

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the grant-in-aid to English Nature for 2006-07 will be paid.

Barry Gardiner: Grant in aid is paid to English Nature on a monthly basis. Payments totalling £16,000,000 have already been made to English Nature during the first quarter of this financial year. The next monthly claim, for £4,000,000, has recently been submitted by English Nature to cover July operational costs and this will be paid within the next week. My Department expects to be in a position to confirm English Nature's overall financial settlement for 2006-07 shortly.

Housing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the Affordable Rural Housing Commission; and when he expects to make a decision on additional funds for housing in rural areas.

Barry Gardiner: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Yvette Cooper the Minister for Housing both took part in discussions of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission report on the day of its launch. Affordable rural housing will continue to be one of the subjects covered in the regular dialogue between the two departments and across Government.
	The Government are currently considering the report and will use a range of channels and mechanisms to respond in a constructive way to the agenda set by the Commission, including in the forthcoming Spending Review.

Meat Imports

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many samples of imported beef and beef products from (a) other EU member states and  (b) other countries were tested for residues of (i) oestradiol,(ii) testosterone, (iii) progesterone, (iv) zeranol,(v) trenbolone and (vi) melegesterol acetate in (A) 2004 and (B) 2005;
	(2)  what the most recent date on which beef imported into the UK was tested for residues of oestradiol; and how many samples were collected.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2004, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) organised the testing of 301 samples of imported beef for trenbolone and zeranol (one sample was found to be of UK origin and one was unassailable on arrival at the laboratory).
	Of the 299 assayable imported samples, 82 were from other EU member states and 217 were from other countries. No detectable residues of either trenbolone or zeranol were found in 2004, which was also the case in 2003. Trenbolone and zeranol were therefore removed from the imports surveillance programme for 2005 on the recommendation of the independent veterinary residues committee, which oversees the surveillance work of the VMD and advises the food standards agency on relevant surveys. They may be included again in the future.
	
		
			   2003  2004 
			  Substance  Samples  Positive  Samples  Positive 
			 Trenbolone 300 — 299 — 
			 Zeranol 300 — 299 — 
		
	
	Testing was not carried out for the other listed substances in 2004 and 2005 and imported beef has not been tested for residues of oestradiol. All of the results of the VMD's surveillance for residues of veterinary medicines and other substances are published in its quarterly magazine, (MAVIS) available from its website at: www.vmd.gov.uk
	Oestradiol is a naturally occurring hormone. It will be present in beef at varying concentrations, dependant on the physiological state of the animal when it was slaughtered, and also its sex and age. Muscle, which is the matrix available for testing is not ideal. The EU's community reference laboratory recommends serum, which is not available in imported beef.
	Scientific advice from two of the UK's national reference laboratories for veterinary residues analysis is that any difference in concentrations between untreated animals and those treated with exogenous oestradiol is very small. So, distinguishing between them would be unlikely. Therefore no testing has been carried out on imported beef in the last 10 years. Responsibility for testing produce from non-EU member states rests with the country of entry into the EU. Once produce has entered the EU, it should have free circulation within all member states, as part of the single market.
	EU legislation imposes a series of health and supervisory requirements on non-EU countries before they export food to the EU. These are designed to ensure that imported animals and animal products meet standards at least equivalent to those required for production in, and trade between, member states. The use of the listed substances as growth promoting hormones is banned in the EU, and therefore they should not be present in beef imported into the EU.
	The European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office check on compliance with such legislation in EU and non-EU countries exporting to the EU.

Minister of State (Sustainable Farming and Foods)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 2 June 2006,  Official Report, column 100W, on the Minister of State (sustainable farming and foods), if he will estimate the proportion of the time that Lord Rooker has devoted to official duties that he has spent on the affairs of his Department.

Barry Gardiner: Jeff Rooker works full-time on Defra affairs. His other responsibilities, as Northern Ireland spokesman and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, are undertaken on top of his departmental duties when he is in the House of Lords.

New Technologies (Research)

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of his Department's budget was spent researching new technologies in the last period for which figures are available.

Barry Gardiner: Science, engineering and technology (SET) statistics provide a breakdown of GovernmentR and D expenditure by primary purpose and Department. The following table outlines spend for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for 2003-04 on Technology Support and gives this as a percentage of the Department's total budget. The category Technology Support includes strategic as well as applied research, and pre-competitive research. These figures exclude funding of the research base under the science budget and are derived from SET statistics. Tables 3.5 and 3.10 are available on theDTI website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/science/science-funding/set-stats/govt-exp-r&d/index.html hard copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
	
		
			  Analysis of DEFRA R and D expenditure 
			  Purpose  £ million  Percentage of total Department budget 
			 General Support 16.9 0.33 
			 Government Services 6.0 0.12 
			 Policy Support 128.8 2.52 
			 Technology Support 29.2 0.57 
			 Total R and D 181.0 3.55 
			  Definitions: General Support for research All basic and applied R and D which advances knowledge for its own sake; support for postgraduate research studentships (PhD's).  Government Services R and D relevant to any aspects of Government service provision (all defence included here).  Policy Support R and D which Government funds to inform policy (excluding Government Services and Technology Support) and for monitoring developments of significance for the welfare of the population.  Technology Support—applied R and D that advances technology underpinning the UK economy (but excluding defence). The category includes strategic as well as applied research, and pre-competitive research under schemes such as LINK.  Source: ONS Government R and D Survey.

Rural Enterprise Scheme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will enable surplus funds in his Department's rural enterprise scheme and processing and marketing scheme to be re-allocated to the South-West England region to cover the funding shortfall; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The rural enterprise scheme and processing and marketing grant have been very popular and successful across the country. The announcement, in February this year, that these schemes would close on 30 June led to a large increase in the number of applications, all of which were seeking funding from a limited budget.
	DEFRA and the Rural Development Service (RDS) expect to be able to fully award the remaining funds to projects in the respective regions where that money was scheduled to be allocated. In the event that any money remains unallocated after the final Regional Appraisal Panels have met (in August), RDS have put in place plans and procedures to allocate any surplus to the highest quality reserve projects from around the country.
	Good quality reserve projects from the South West region would be included in this exercise, but in such an event projects will be judged on their merits regardless of the region they are from.

Rural Payments Agency

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his estimate is of the costs of running the Rural Payments Agency for each year since 2001.

Barry Gardiner: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an agency of the Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) was formed on16 October 2001. Its main objective is to administer the common agricultural policy for England. The gross running costs associated with the administration of the payments to farmers for each of the five years are given as follows. The figures for 2000-01 are the combined figures for the Intervention Board and the elements of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that merged to become RPA in October 2001.
	
		
			   Amount (£ million) 
			 2000-01 140.0 
			 2001-02 (1)126.5 
			 2002-03 (2)186.4 
			 2003-04 198.4 
			 2004-05 249.2 
			 (1) Restated figure due to reclassification of costs. (2) Restated figure under merger accounting. 
		
	
	The detail supporting each of the years can be found in RPA's annual report and accounts under House of Commons publication numbers HC 1197 (for both 2000-01 and 2001-02), HC 940, HC 1009 and HC 82 respectively.

Single Farm Payments

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission regarding EU fines for not paying all of the Single Farm Payment by 30 June 2006; whether the deadline will be extended; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much the European Commission will fine the UK Government for missing the 30 June 2006 deadline for Single Farm Payment if  (a) 85 per cent.,  (b) 86 per cent.,  (c) 87 per cent.,  (d) 88 per cent.,  (e) 89 per cent.,  (f) 90 per cent.,  (g) 91 per cent.,  (h) 92 per cent.,  (i) 93 per cent.,  (j) 94 per cent.,  (k) 95 per cent.,  (l) 96 per cent.,  (m) 97 per cent.,  (n) 98 per cent.,  (o) 99 per cent. have been paid by the deadline.

Barry Gardiner: The end of the regulatory payment window for the 2005 Single Payment Scheme (SPS) is 30 June 2006. Discussions with the European Commission suggest that a formal extension to that window is unlikely, but those discussions will continue, focussed on the application of separate regulatory requirements on the EU funding of payments. As things stand, those requirements are, in summary, that where payments made after 30 June in any member state amount to 4 per cent. or less of what was paid out before that date, no reduction in EU funding will be imposed. For any amounts outstanding after 30 June over and above the 4 per cent. threshold, reductions will apply as follows:
	
		
			  Month  Percentage 
			 up to 1 10 
			 up to 2 25 
			 up to 3 45 
			 up to 4 70 
			 up to 5 or more 100 
		
	
	Furthermore, where the 4 per cent. threshold hasnot been used by 15 October, it will be reduced to2 per cent.
	Whether there is any reduction in EU funding ofUK 2005 SPS payments and, if so, how much will, therefore, depend on the amount and timing of any payments made after 30 June deadline across the UK.

Water Companies

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of whether each of the regulated water companies is making a reasonable rate of return on capital as defined in the relevant legislation; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of whether water companies are making excessive rates of return.

Ian Pearson: The Government recognises that companies have to earn a return on their capital and Ofwat has a duty to enable them to reasonably do so. At each price review, Ofwat must make a judgement about what is a reasonable return on capital to be allowed in price limits. If companies outperform Ofwat's assumptions at the last price review, then customers will share the benefit in their bills from 2010.
	Rates of return earned by water companies in 2000-05 were lower than 1990-95.

Woodland

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place for the protection of woodland in  (a) South Swindon constituency and  (b) the Great Western Community Forest.

Barry Gardiner: A number of measures are in place to protect woodlands in England including South Swindon and Great Western Community Forest. In particular the felling of woodland is controlled through the felling regulations. Additionally, many woodlands are subject to further controls where they lie within designated areas such as sites of special scientific interest or special areas of conservation.
	Local planning authorities also have wide powersto protect trees and woodland by means of Tree Preservation Orders.
	Where it is intended to fell trees and use the land for another purpose the proposals will be assessed under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry) Regulations and consent for felling under these regulations may also be required from the Forestry Commission.
	Planning Policy Statement 9 says that, for areas of ancient woodland that do not benefit from statutory protection, planning permission should not be granted for any development that would result in its loss or deterioration unless the need for, and benefits of, the development in that location outweigh the loss of the woodland habitat.

Afghanistan

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the composition is of the British Provisional Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province.

Kim Howells: The UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, consists of representatives of UK armed forces, the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development, and our embassy in Kabul drugs team. In addition, there are UK-funded advisers working in the fields of governance, police reform, and justice/rule of law. Multinational elements include military and civilian elementsfrom Denmark and Estonia and the US Agency for International Development, US Department forAgriculture and US State Department officials. The Afghan Government is represented by an official from the Ministry of the Interior.

Belarus

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance the UK Government are giving to establish a free Belarus radio.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 4 July 2006
	Since1 November 2005, the UK, together with EU partners, has funded independent radio broadcasts into Belarus. The most recently launched project by the European Commission is to last for two years at the cost of€2 million. The project comprises TV and radio broadcasts from Poland, Lithuania and Germany into Belarus. It also provides funding for internet print media and training of journalists.

Bulgaria/Romania

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions Ministers from her Department have visited  (a) Bulgaria and  (b) Romania in the last 12 months.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the then Minister for Europe (Mr. Alexander) visited Bulgaria and Romania on 5-6 February and visited Bulgaria again from 27-28 April to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting. My hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs also visited both countries on 8-10 May. I hope to visit later this year.

Burma

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of whether the uranium produced and exported by Burma is the kind that can be used in the development of  (a) nuclear weapons and  (b) dirty bombs.

Kim Howells: We are not aware of any exports of uranium from Burma. Burma maintains that its limited uranium production is for ongoing studies into the peaceful use of nuclear power.
	Any uranium ore would have to be processed before it could be used in a nuclear facility. In particular, to be used in a nuclear weapons programme, uranium would have to be enriched to more than 90 per cent. U235. We are not aware of any enrichment facilities being operational in Burma.
	Uranium is not an effective material to use inthe construction of a radiological weapon, or "dirty bomb".

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 16 May 2006 on Afghanistan and Iraq.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs(Mr. McCartney), replied to the hon. Member's letter of 16 May on 29 June.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ian McCartney: The UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), MONUC, is the largest and most complex mission that the UN has managed to date. Its key tasks are to facilitate political transition and power sharing arrangements, deal with armed groups outside the political process and to protect civilians.
	MONUC chairing aided the peace process since 2002 by brokering cease-fires and peace deals and the International Committee in Support of the Transition, which engages with the Congolese Government. Following MONUC's support for a successful referendum last December, the country is set to hold its first elections since the 1960s. UN expertise and MONUC's logistical support for this process have been crucial to making this possible.
	MONUC operates in a dangerous and complex environment and has been mandated by the UN Security Council, under chapter VII of the UN charter, to support the Congolese Army to disarm those groups that are a threat to the peace process and to protect civilians from rebel attack. There has been considerable progress in dealing with armed groups, but attacks on civilians remain at an unacceptable level.
	In 2004 a number of cases of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN peacekeepers and staff in the DRC came to light, raising serious concerns about MONUC's management. After a thorough investigation by the Secretary-General's special representative on the issue, a series of measures were introduced to combat the problem of sexual abuse and exploitation by UN peacekeepers across all UN missions. MONUC has stringently imposed these measures on UN staff and peacekeepers. We continue to keep MONUC's performance under close review in all areas of its activity, through our Embassy in Kinshasa and through regular Security Council discussions.

Departmental Premises (Security)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to ensure that no illegal immigrants are employed in the manned guarding of her Departments premises.

Geoff Hoon: Only British nationals can work as security guards in Foreign and Commonwealth Office premises in the UK. To ensure illegal immigrants are not employed the pre-employment checks require the following:
	proof of nationality with photo ID (passport);
	photo ID (passport or driving licence);
	application form completed and checked;
	four personal references;
	and
	five year employment history.

East Timor

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answers of 15 June 2006,  Official Report, column 470W, on East Timor, what assessment she has madeof whether precautions to ensure the security of (a) Serious Crimes Unit files on crimes committed in 1999 and  (b) other files, including those on the UN investigation into the deaths of Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters in 1975, were along lines requested by her Department of the UN and of the Government of Timor-Leste; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We have informed the UN Mission to East Timor and the East Timorese Government of the importance that we attach to the security of all case files. All Serious Crimes Unit files have been copied digitally and are held by the UN. However, as yet, due to the recent civil unrest in East Timor and resulting lack of personnel within the local government, it has not been possible for the UN to establish the location of the UN investigation files relating to Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters. We will continue to press for this information.

EU (Qualified Majority Voting)

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when officials in her Department first became aware of EU Commission proposals to extend qualified majority voting over police and judicial affairs.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The possibility of extending qualified majority voting to police and judicial affairs was provided for in the Amsterdam and Nice treaties. Article 42 of the treaty on European Union (TEU)—the passerelle—allows for areas governed by title VI (third pillar) to be transferred to title IV (first pillar) by unanimous Council decision. It is likely, although not inevitable, that this would mean a move to qualified majority voting and co-decision, which is the norm in the first pillar.
	The European Commission's plans to put forward proposals for exploiting Article 42 TEU and changing the decision-making arrangements in the field of police and judicial affairs were raised, in general terms, in its communication "A Citizens' Agenda: Delivering Results for Europe" on 10 May 2006. In this communication, the Commission announced its intention to
	"present an initiative to improve decision taking and accountability in areas such as police and judicial co-operation and legal migration, using the possibilities under the existing Treaties".
	The Commission's formal proposals for changing the decision-making procedure for the area of Justice and Home Affairs were not published until 28 June.
	The Finnish presidency has also announced its intention to explore the possibility of using the article 42 passerelle to improve the decision-making process. In its 'Preliminary Agenda for Finland's Presidency of the EU' of 24 May, the presidency said that the review of the Hague Programme
	"could include...achieving more effective decision-making on police and criminal law (the "passerelle")".

EU Fraud

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to her answer of 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 301, on EU fraud, what information is held on allegations by diplomats; to which cases the allegations refer; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not hold a comprehensive record of EU fraud allegations. Such allegations are addressed to the EU Commission. The Government fully support the Commission's work on this issue.
	However, I can confirm that the FCO Europe Directorate does hold the following information compiled when there was public interest in two cases on 9 December 2005:
	The European Commission (EC) Staff Regulations require EC staff to raise any concerns they have with either the Director-General of their institution, the Secretary-General, "persons in equivalent positions", or the independent European Anti-Fraud Office.
	 Porte Schmidt-Brown
	Ms Schmidt-Brown recently took a case to the European Court of Justice's Court of First Instance. The Court ruled against her. It would not be appropriate to comment on the Court's judgement.
	 Hans-Martin Tillack
	Mr. Tillack filed a complaint against the European Anti-Fraud Office at the European Court of Justice's Court of First Instance. The Court rejected his case. It would not be appropriate to comment on the Court's judgement.

Extraordinary Rendition

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the statement of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 27 June on extraordinary renditions; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government have fully co-operated with the Council of Europe inquiries. We have found no evidence of detainees being rendered through UK territory or airspace where there were substantial grounds to believe there was a real risk of torture. My right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary(Mr. Straw) set out in his written ministerial statement of 20 January 2006,  Official Report, columns 37-38WS, the results of the extensive review of Official Records back to May 1997.

Extraordinary Rendition

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she will provide the information on extraordinary rendition requested by the Joint Committee on Human Rights in its nineteenth report, published in May 2006.

Kim Howells: The Government are consideringthe Joint Committee on Human Rights report on the Convention Against Torture and will reply to the Committee in due course.

Gaza

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Israeli authorities about the closure of the Kerem Shalom Crossing in Gaza; and what alternative arrangements are being made to allow access to Gaza for food and medical humanitarian assistance.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The Kerem Shalom, as well as all other crossing points between Gaza and Israel, remains closed for Palestinian nationals. We raised our concerns about their closure and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip with the Israeli Government on 29 June and we will continue to do so. The Erez crossing remains open for humanitarian cases.
	On 2 July the Karni crossing was opened for humanitarian aid. The crossing is expected to be open for six hours a day for four days this week. According to the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Israel would allow 150 trucks carrying food and medicine to pass through the crossing each day.

Gaza

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made by the  (a) Government,  (b) EU and  (c) UN of the effect on the humanitarian situation in Gaza of (i) the closure of all land crossing in and out of Gaza, (ii) the prevention of fishermen accessing the sea and (iii) the destruction of the electricity supply station.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 4 July 2006
	We are concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza, particularly the supply of electricity, water and the closure of the Gaza-Israel crossing points. Our defence attaché in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about the worsening situation in Gaza, including the loss of power and water supplies, with the Israeli Defence Force on 29 June.
	On 30 June, the EU said it regrets the destruction of essential infrastructure, which contributes to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Restoring electricity and water supplies and access for humanitarian organisations must be a prioritynow to avoid a humanitarian crisis. The EU has continually called upon both parties to implement the 15 November 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access, and for Israel to keep the crossing points between Gaza and Israel open.
	On 29 June the UN Secretary-General highlighted his concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. He called on
	"the Government of Israel to show restraint, to avoid actions that damage civilian infrastructure and that aggravates the hardship of the Palestinian population, and to abide by international humanitarian law. To prevent a further decline in the humanitarian situation, Israel should also act urgently to facilitate the import of essential medical supplies, foodstuffs, and particularly fuel into the Gaza Strip".
	The World Food Programme and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on the situation in Gaza on 30 June. They raised concerns over the water supply, health matters and food scarcity given the lack of electricity and a shortage of fuel caused by closures of the crossing points. We note with concern the World Food Programme assessment of the impact of fishermen not being able to go out to sea.

Israel

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response she has made to the agreement between Hamas and Fatah regarding acceptance of a two state settlement in Israel and Palestine; and what representations she has made to  (a) the Palestinian Authority,  (b) Israel and  (c) the USA on the subject.

Kim Howells: We would welcome any movement toward the three Quartet (EU, UN, US and Russia) principles: renounce violence; recognise Israel; and accept previous agreements, including the Roadmap. We are aware of reports that an agreement has been reached between Hamas and Fatah. We await an official announcement and further details. We will judge Hamas by their actions. We urge all parties to find a way back to negotiations, which are the best way of ensuring a lasting peace.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell) on 28 June 2006,  Official Report,column 255.

Israel

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Israeli authorities about the detention of elected Palestinian representatives.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 4 July 2006
	At the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in Moscow on 29 June, G8 Foreign Ministers called on Israel to exercise utmost restraint in the current crisis. They also expressed their concerns over the detention of elected members of the Palestinian Government and legislature.
	On 30 June the EU raised its concerns
	"about the detention of elected members of the Palestinian Government and legislature. Those detained should be accorded their full legal rights".
	We have made no representations to the Israeli authorities on their behalf.

Russia

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the main priorities are of the UK in its relations with Russia.

Geoff Hoon: The Government will continue to sustain a productive and successful partnership with Russia which contributes to the achievement of the international priorities set out in the White Paper "Active Diplomacy for a Changing World"7 (28 March 2006) and the additional priority of climate security announced on 8 June 2006.

UK Ambassadors

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the names are of those who  (a) approve and  (b) select UK ambassadors.

Geoff Hoon: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) appointments are made in accordance with the rules in the Diplomatic Service or Home Civil Service Orders in Council.
	As with other FCO appointments, applications for Heads of Mission positions are invited and candidates considered by the relevant FCO Selection Board, as follows:
	the No 1 Selection Board (for appointments in Senior Management Structure Pay Bands 2-4 and all Governorships of Overseas Territories) is chaired by the Permanent Under-Secretary, and consists of the five Directors General and a non-Executive member of the FCO Board of Management;
	the No 2 Selection Board (for appointments in Senior Management Structure Pay Band 1) is chaired by the Director, Human Resources and consists of all FCO Directors in Senior Management Structure Pay Band 2, and the Directors for the Americas and for Russia and Central Asia, as well as an independent observer;
	the Delegated Grades Band D Board is chaired by theHuman Resources Assistant Director (Operations). Three independent board members sit on each board, drawn from a pool of Senior Management Structure officers who have volunteered for this role, undergone diversity training and been agreed by the Trade Union Side.
	Some Heads of Mission appointments will be considered by interview panels, at the discretion of the Boards.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary approves all Head of Mission appointments, and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister approves all Head of Mission appointments in Pay Bands 2-4 and all Governorships of Overseas Territories, before the names of the individuals are submitted to Her Majesty the Queen for her approval.

Zimbabwe

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to the Zimbabwean authorities on freedom of expression by opposition spokespersons in Zimbabwe.

Kerry McCarthy: Our ambassador in Harare,Dr. Pocock, makes repeated representations to the Government of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front leaders to reverse their policies which are causing immense suffering to Zimbabweans and to restore the democratic space, including by permitting freedom of expression for all Zimbabweans as well as civic society and opposition representatives. Dr. Pocock made these representations most recently during a call on Minister Mnangagwa on 17 May.
	We will continue to work for the restoration of good governance and the rule of law in Zimbabwe.

Crown Courts

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when her Department expects to finalise plans to increase Crown court capacity in Buckinghamshire; and what assessment has been made of providing Crown court facilities at  (a) Aylesbury,  (b) Milton Keynes and (c) both.

Harriet Harman: A strategic business case has been prepared which outlines the need to seek to replace the current Aylesbury Crown court facilities with modern premises that provide additional capacity for the future.
	The business case was prepared on the basis of reviewing the current and future requirements for the county of Buckinghamshire including Milton Keynes Unitary Authority.
	At this stage it is considered that the facility will be in one location, still to be defined, and serve the county of Buckinghamshire, including Milton Keynes.
	The business case has been submitted to Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) to be reviewed and receive detailed consideration by the National Property Board in the coming months. If the business case is determined as appropriate, then it will be subject to prioritisation in the future HMCS building programme, and is then dependant on treasury approval of the HMCS capital spending programme.
	In the meantime, the current Crown court requirements for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes are being reviewed to ensure that all courtroom capacity in the Thames Valley HMCS area is fully utilised to facilitate the early scheduling of cases. This does, on occasions, require the transfer of cases to other locations until a new facility is built to replace Aylesbury Crown court.
	It is not anticipated that any new court building would be available before 2010, should it receive an early approval by the National Property Board for inclusion in current and future building schemes.

Accident Victims

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many cases recoupment of benefits for accident victims has taken place in the last three years; how much was recouped  (a) in total,  (b) for road accident cases,  (c) for accidents at work cases,  (d) for clinical negligence cases and  (e) in other cases; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Total cases where recoupment from damages awarded to accident victims has been made by the Compensation Recovery Unit in each of the past three years 
			   Total cases  Road accident victims (motor)  Accidents at work (employer)  Clinical negligence  Other cases 
			 2003-04 69,607 22,492 40,192 1,364 5,559 
			 2004-05 66,369 21,722 37,542 1,426 5,679 
			 2005-06 68,581 20,124 41,486 1,453 5,518 
		
	
	
		
			  Amounts recovered by the Compensation Recovery Unit by way of recoupment from damages awarded to accident victims in each of the past three years 
			   Total Amount (£)  Road accident victims (motor)  Accidents at work (employer)  Clinical negligence  Other cases 
			 2003-04 171,096,832 47,548,518 105,222,813 5,678,918 12,646,583 
			 2004-05 163,392,733 46,369,383 98,117,141 6,110,571 12,795,638 
			 2005-06 148,840,619 42,217,163 87,524,579 6,750,203 12,348,674 
			  Notes: 1. The column titled "Other Cases" includes other, public and unknown liabilities. 2. The figures in the table (2) are rounded up to the nearest £.  Source: Figures are taken from the Compensation Recovery Unit's management information statistics.

Departmental IT Systems

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) of14 March 2006,  Official Report, column 2167W, on departmental IT systems, if he will list the suppliers and contractors involved in each project; and what proportion of listed outturn for each project was paid to each supplier and contractor involved.

James Purnell: The following table shows the project name, purpose, actual end date and outturn included in the answer to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) of 14 March 2006,  Official Report, column 2167W. We have added supplier/contractor and proportion of outturn columns and included the name of the principal IT suppliers/contractors for each project and the proportion of the outturn paid to these suppliers/contractors.
	
		
			  Project/purpose  Actual end date  Outturn(£ million)  Supplier/contractor  Proportion of outturn paid to the supplier/contractor (percentage) 
			  Customer Management System 
			 This system is an information gathering business process for working age income support, jobseeker's allowance and incapacity benefit claims and changes of circumstances. It will allow information supplied by the customer to be gathered electronically by staff, improving efficiency and customer service. Staff will be able to check information supplied against that already held November 2005 250 IBM 41 
			EDS 16 
			  
			  ISCS/JSA Modernisation Project 
			 Delivered initiatives that enhanced or augmented existing Working Age IT systems. These included the sharing of electronic data with disability living allowance, attendance allowance and personal details computer systems August 2004 14 EDS 66 
			  
			  Digital Office Infrastructure 
			 DOI provided a modern IT infrastructure platform across the Department providing access for all staff to the internet and intranet and modern business software June 2004 (1)726 EDS 65 
			BT 30 
			  
			  Managing Core Systems Estate 
			 To improve the ways in which our core legacy systems are managed February 2005 5 Accenture 45 
			EDS 15 
			  
			  Pensions Forecasting Programme 
			 To establish the new Combined Pension Forecasting Service and enhance and replace the existing individual Pension Forecasting IT system April 2005 43 EDS 40 
			  
			  Pensions credit 
			 This project successfully introduced pension credit in October 2003. It delivered new IT functionality to existing DWP systems, and associated business products (eg training, staff guidance, customer notifications) October 2004 297 EDS 30.6 
			  
			  Payment Modernisation Programme 
			 The Payment Modernisation Programme aims to establish direct payment into a bank or building society account as the normal, method of payment for all customers. This includes those who wish to collect their money from the Post Office June 2005 366 EDS 12 
			ATOS Origin 47 
			 (1) This resource expenditure relates to 64 per cent. of the total DOI figure. The remaining 36 per cent. of the total relates to capital expenditure—the records that would allow us to provide an accurate picture of how this capital expenditure was split over the suppliers has been archived. The costs associated with the retrieval of these documents, and the accompanying staff time costs required to go through the records to identify these by supplier/contractor, would be excessive and time consuming.  Notes: 1. Outturn figures show the final investment cost for the completed projects. 2. The New Tax Credits project has not been included above as the project is still ongoing. It was inadvertently shown as completed in my response to the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) of 14 March 2006,  Official Report, column 2167W.

Housing Benefit

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of housing benefit  (a) overpayments and  (b) fraud was to Luton Council in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Overpayments and recoveries by Luton Council, 2004-05 
			  £ 
			  Value of overpayments identified by Luton Council  Subsidy paid by DWP to Luton council (40 per cent. of overpayments identified)  Net cost to Luton council before recovery  Recovered byLuton council  Net cost after recovery 
			 986,776 394,710 592,066 1,007,423 -415,357 
			  Notes: 1. A negative amount implies a surplus. 2. The cost of overpayments is calculated first from the difference between the value of overpayments identified due to fraud and claimant error, and the subsidy received by Luton council for these overpayments. This value minus any overpayments subsequently recovered from claimants or landlords is presented here as the net cost after recovery. Administrative costs, such as those for fraud teams and for recovering overpayments, have not been included in this answer. 3. The amount recovered by Luton council in 2004-05 includes overpayments identified in earlier years. 
		
	
	Information is not available on local authority performance in respect of the level of Housing Benefit fraud present in their caseload, since it is not possible to robustly estimate the amount of undetected fraud and error at a local authority level.

Housing Benefit

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State forWork and Pensions how much was spent onhousing benefit for tenants in  (a) council property,  (b) housing association property,  (c) registered social landlord property and  (d) private sector housing in Tamworth constituency in each of the last threeyears.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available broken down by constituency. Information cannot be broken down by landlord type other than by council or private tenancies. The latter includes housing associations and registered social landlords. The available DWP information for Tamworth borough council is in the table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit expenditure in Tamworth borough council. 
			 £ 
			   Expenditure in council property  Expenditure in all private property  All housing benefit expenditure 
			 2002-03 237,000 3,824,000 4,061,000 
			 2003-04 138,000 3,866,000 4,004,000 
			 2004-05 7,318,000 4,027,000 11,345,000 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. There are issues still to be resolved in the 2004-05 claim and therefore the figures for this year are subject to change 3. From 2004-05, the DWP expenditure includes £7,086,780 HRA Rent Rebates; HRA for previous years was paid by DCLG. 4. Figures are reported expenditure by local authorities and not DWP subsidy expenditure. 5. Figures are nominal amounts.   Source: Audited subsidy claims submitted by local authority

Pension Credit

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of female pensioners were  (a) eligible to claim and  (b) receiving pension credit in (i) the UK, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) England in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The information is not available in the format requested. Information on female beneficiaries of pension credit in Great Britain is in the following table. In Northern Ireland, pension credit administration is a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
	
		
			  Female beneficiaries of pension credit in Great Britain February 2006 
			   Female beneficiaries  Female beneficiaries as a percentage of women60 or over( 1) 
			 Wales 130,080 34 
			 Scotland 222,610 36 
			 England 1,817,280 31 
			 Great Britain 2,169,960 32 
			 (1) Beneficiaries includes single women in receipt of pension credit, and women in couples who are in receipt of pension credit.  Notes: 1. These figures are early estimates. The preferred data source for figures supplied by DWP is the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS). However, the figures provided are the latest available figures which are taken from the GMS scan at 17 February 2006. These are adjusted using the historical relationship between WPLS and GMS data to give an estimate of the final WPLS figure.Average amounts are displayed as at the scan reference data of17 February 2006. 2. Case loads are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Percentages are rounded to the nearest full point. 4. Figures may include female partners who are aged under 60.  5. Population figures used in the percentage calculation are based on ONS mid-term 2004 population estimates.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions 100 per cent. data from the Generalised Matching Service (GMS). Pension credit scan taken as at 17 February 2006.

Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the effect on retirement income for pensioners who are members of defined contribution schemes in  (a) 2020,  (b) 2030,  (c) 2040 and  (d) 2050 of a reduction equivalent to the value of the contracted-out rebate in contributions.

James Purnell: The amount of pension derived from the contracted out rebate for defined contribution schemes depends on investment returns and annuity rates at the point of retirement and it is not possible to predict the amount of that pension.
	Where people contract out under such schemes, they forego all or part of their State Second Pension and, in return, part of their National Insurance Contributions is rebated and invested to build up a funded pension. The value of these rebates, subject to an age cap, is actuarially neutral in relation to the State benefit foregone. If a person ceases to be contracted-out, they will start to build up rights to State Second Pension. Given the actuarial neutrality of the rebate, they should generally be no better or worse off in retirement as a result of not receiving the contracted out rebate.

Security in Retirement

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the proposals in Security in Retirement whether earnings-related accruals in the state second pension (SSP) scheme up to 2030 will be paid to those receiving SSP for the first time after 2030; and how the earnings-related accruals to SSP will taper away after the restoration of the earnings link to the basic pension.

James Purnell: Earnings-related accruals of state second pension would be tapered away by around 2030 by freezing the national insurance upper earnings limit, for the purpose of state second pension accruals, in cash terms from the point at which earnings uprating of the basic state pension as proposed in the White Paper is introduced. Earnings-related accruals built up under the state earnings-related pension scheme and/or the state second pension prior to 2030 would be fully protected and would continue to be revalued in line with earnings from that date. The combination of our proposals to 'flat-rate' accruals of the state second pension and earnings uprate the basic state pension would ensure that the state pension outcomes for people reaching state pension age after 2030 would not be reduced. The following table shows examples of the state pension outcomes for individuals under the proposed reforms.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Low earner (c £12,000a year)  Median earner (c £23,000a year)  High earner (c £33,000a year) 
			  Under Reform (2053)
			 Basic State Pension 73 73 73 
			 State Second Pension 61 66 67 
			 Total State Entitlement 134 139 140 
			 
			  Without Reform (2050)
			 Basic State Pension 33 33 33 
			 State Second Pension 56 67 69 
			 Total State Entitlement 89 100 102 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been expressed in 2005-06 earnings terms and reflect the value of pension entitlement in 2050 or 2053 relative to expected changes in the level of average earnings over time. 2. We have assumed that standard rate class 1 national insurance contributions have been paid or treated as paid over a working/caring life of around 40 years, from age 25 to state pension age.

Senior Citizens Forums

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Department provides funding for senior citizens' forums.

James Purnell: The Department does not directly fund senior citizens' forums.
	Senior citizens' forums are responsible for securing their own funding and are financed mainly through membership fees, grants (usually from local government or organisations such as Age Concern) and lottery funding.
	However, we do indirectly provide support to the development of senior citizens' forums through our partnership in, and financing of, Better Government for Older People (BGOP).
	We have no plans to offer a government grant to Shrewsbury senior citizens' forum.

Senior Citizens Forums

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will meet the leaders of Shrewsbury Senior Citizens Forum to discuss their priorities for senior citizens.

James Purnell: I will be happy to consider a meeting if the hon. Member will write detailing the areas of DWP policy the forum members wish to discuss.

AIDS

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people were receiving treatment for AIDS in the Province in each of the last three years, broken down by health board area.

Paul Goggins: The number of diagnosed HIV infected individuals resident in Northern Ireland, whose most advanced clinical stage ever was AIDS (including those who died of AIDS) seen for care in the survey year, broken down by health board area, are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Calendar year 
			  Board  2002  2003  2004 
			 Eastern Health and Social Services Board 33 34 29 
			 Northern Health and Social Services Board 10 11 12 
			 Southern Health and Social Services Board 4 3 3 
			 Western Health and Social Services Board 7 4 4 
			 NI Total 54 52 48 
			  Note:Individuals are aged 15 years of age and over. Source:Survey of Prevalent HIV Infection Diagnosed conducted by Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London.

Children and Young People's Funding

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what criteria were used to ensure that funding from the Children and Young People's funding package would reduce under-achievement and improve life chances of children and young people by enhancing their educational development and fostering their health, well-being and social inclusion.

Maria Eagle: The criteria for the inclusion of activities under the Children and Young People Funding Package are as follows:
	Provision of high quality structured learning and related activities, support and services, offered from 8 am to 6 pm in schools, youth settings, pre-school centres, child care settings, Sure Start and Children's Centres;
	Development of innovative approaches to delivery that build capacity and ensure that children and young people who are disadvantaged or marginalised, including those in rural areas, can benefit fully from early years education and after-school activities, supported by appropriate health related services;
	Strengthening child protection arrangements and fostering inter-agency co-operation and collaboration;
	Improving education provision and support for Looked after Children and vulnerable young people;
	Developing and implementing an integrated framework for service delivery, that delivers high quality, cost effective and flexible provision that meets the needs of children and young people and their families.
	Putting in place, from the outset, monitoring and inspection arrangements to assure Departments that the provision is making a positive difference to children and their families.
	To ensure maximum impact from the available funding, the programme is being taken forward on a phased basis, targeted initially on children and young people who are disadvantaged, marginalised or have the most limited access to current services.

Dietary Supplements (Schools)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether education and library boards in Northern Ireland are using omega 3 and fish oil supplements in school meals; and whether boards have plans to use such supplements.

Maria Eagle: The education and library boards regularly provide certain foods in school meals that contain naturally occurring omega 3 and fish oils,and therefore do not currently provide these as supplements.
	The Department of Education is currently considering responses to its consultation on new nutritional standards for school meals and other food in schools. One of the new food based standards will ensure that oily fish is available at least once every three weeks.

International Monitoring Commission

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish an audit ofthe implementation of recommendations from the International Monitoring Commission to Government and Government bodies.

Paul Goggins: Decisions by the Government in relation to implementation of recommendations of the Independent Monitoring Commission are a matter of public record. There is no intention to publish a comprehensive audit at this stage.

Judicial Review

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what occasions an  (a) individual and  (b) organisation has applied for a judicial review of decisions of his Department in each year since 1997; and what the outcome was of each case where proceedings have been completed.

Peter Hain: The information requested is notheld centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Lung Cancer

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many lung cancer specialists are working in Northern Ireland; and what steps are being taken to increase the number of specialists.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of lung cancer specialists is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Lung cancer specialists working within the NI HPSS by board area as at June 2006 
			   Medical staff  Nursing staff  Other staff  Total 
			   Headcount  WTE  Headcount  WTE  Headcount  WTE  Headcount  WTE 
			 Northern board 2 2.00 1 1.00 0 0.00 3 3.00 
			 Eastern board 28 21.50 4 3.30 5 3.60 37 28.40 
			 Southern board 5 2.70 1 1.00 1 0.50 7 4.20 
			 Western board 9 8.00 2 1.50 3 3.00 14 12.50 
			 Total 44 34.20 8 6.80 9 7.10 61 48.10 
			  Notes:1. This information was obtained directly from the NI HPSS trusts.2. WTE = whole-time equivalent.3. Medical staff include consultant physicians, thoracic surgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, radiologists and oncologists, and specialist registrars.4. Nursing staff include grade F, G and H clinical specialists.5. Other staff include physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapist and other palliative care staff. 6. Altnagelvin reported that the lung cancer specialists do not work exclusively in lung cancer but are all active members of the lung cancer multidisciplinary team.7. Belfast City Hospital stated that all respiratory physicians within Belfast City Hospital Trust investigate lung cancer, and that lung cancer is just one of the specialties within the consultant oncologists' job, therefore it is difficult to provide the exact time spent working on lung cancer.8. Newry and Mourne HSS Trust stated that they have one respiratory physician who spends 5 per cent. of his time on early diagnosis of patients with lung cancer, before referring them to cancer specialists in Craigavon Area Hospital or Belfast.9. Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust stated that the medical staff detailed in their reply deal with the surgical element of the lung cancer specialism only.10. United Hospitals Group HSS Trust stated that the two physicians employed there treat lung cancer patients as part of their work, but are not solely employed as lung cancer specialists. They were unable to determine how much of their time was spent specifically on lung cancer patients. 11. Western board area figures exclude Sperrin Lakeland Trust who were unable to provide an answer to this PQ within the specified time. Source:NI HPSS Trusts 
		
	
	While local staffing arrangements are the responsibility of relevant trusts the Department has a role in ensuring that sufficient suitably qualified staff are available to meet the needs of the health and personal social services and provide modern cancer services. For example in medicine, numbers in training in the relevant specialty areas will accommodate an increase in specialist numbers in future years.

Northern Ireland Police Fund

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the names are of each  (a) director and  (b) former director of the Northern Ireland Police Fund.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the Northern Ireland Police Fund that the names of  (a) the current directors of the Northern Ireland Police Fund areMr. D. McClurg, Mrs. C. Carlisle, Mr. I. Clarke,Dr. J. Galway, Mr. C. Jenkins, Mr. R. Miller, ACC McCausland, Ms G. Rice, Mr. T. Spence and  (b) the former directors of the Northern Ireland PoliceFund are Ms A. Paisley, Mrs. F. Reid, Lord Rogan,Mr. R. Wilson and Sir John Semple.

Northern Ireland Police Fund

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland whether the appointment of (a) Mr. Desmond Clayton and  (b) Mr. Thomas Hale to the Northern Ireland Police Fund was conducted under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Office.

Paul Goggins: The appointment of staff to the Northern Ireland Police Fund is a matter for the Fund.

Northern Ireland Police Fund

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid out in grants by the Northern Ireland Police Fund in each year since its foundation.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the Northern Ireland Police Fund that the following amount has been paid out in grants.
	
		
			   Grants amount (£000) 
			 2002-03 1,546 
			 2003-04 l,162 
			 2004-05 899 
			 2005-06 l,618 
		
	
	This excludes the additional payments allocated by NIO to the pre 1982 widows.
	Spend in the current year on grants up to 30 June is £326,000.

Nurses and Midwives

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Northern Ireland how many redundancies of (a) nurses and  (b) midwives there have been in each health board area in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: In the last five years no nurses or midwives have been made redundant in the HPSS.

Pensions

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what advice he has received on future public expenditure implications arising from possible shortfalls in public service pension funds.

David Hanson: The main public sector pension schemes are unfunded or 'pay as you go'. This is the case for the principal civil service pension scheme (Northern Ireland); the health service superannuation scheme; the fire service superannuation scheme;the police pension scheme and the teachers' superannuation scheme.
	The local government officers' pension scheme (NI) is a fully funded scheme and any deficit would be met by an increase in contributions from scheme employers.

Pensions

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessments have been made of the ability of Northern Ireland's public service pension funds to meet their liabilities.

David Hanson: All public sector pension schemes are subject to regular actuarial valuation.
	The main purposes of the actuarial valuation are:
	to assess the value of the liabilities accrued under the scheme up to the valuation date;
	to compare the value of the liabilities with the value of the assets deemed to be applicable for assessing funding levels, and
	to make a recommendation on the contributions to be paid scheme participants.
	The resource accounts for the schemes are produced in accordance with Treasury guidelines on resource accounting, and contain a report on the scheme liabilities, with the exception of NILGOS, whose accounts are incorporated into their annual report. Copies of the accounts are published and placed in the Library. Library References are included in the following table.
	The table shows the date at which the last full actuarial valuation for each of the Northern Ireland public sector pension schemes was carried out and the date at which the next valuation is due.
	
		
			  Pension scheme  Date at which last actuarial valuation was carried out  Date at which next actuarial valuation is due  House of Commons Library Reference for Accounts/Annual Report 
			 Principal civil service pension scheme (Northern Ireland) 31 March 2003 31 March 2007 HC504 
			 Northern Ireland teachers' superannuation scheme 31 March 2004 31 March 2008 HC499 
			 NI local government officers' superannuation scheme 31 March 2004 31 March 2007 HC583 
			 Police superannuation scheme 31 March 2006 31 March 2007 HC676 
			 Health service superannuation Scheme 31 March 1999 Currently under way HC492 
			 Fire service superannuation scheme 31 March 2004 31 March 2007 HC600

Public Pensions (Transferability)

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures the Department has put in place to assist pension transferability of public pensions for personnel working in Northern Ireland departments and agencies.

David Hanson: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) [PCSPS(NI)] provides pensions for all personnel working in Northern Ireland departments and agencies. The PCSPS(NI), in parity with GB public service schemes, pays cash equivalent transfer values to other pension schemes in compliance with pension law. Members of public service schemes can transfer accrued pension rights by way of the Public Sector Transfer Club. The Club is a network of public and private sector occupational pension schemes which makes it easier for employees who move between employers covered by separate participating schemes to transfer their accrued pension rights. There is also a requirement under the Fair Deal for Staff Pensions to transfer pension rights when employments are transferred to the public sector under Public Private Partnerships/Public Finance Initiatives or under Machinery of Government movements and subsequent transfers for former public servants.

Racial Equality

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources have been put in place by each Northern Ireland Department to implement the Racial Equality Action Plan.

David Hanson: Northern Ireland Departments, Northern Ireland Office and the Police Service for Northern Ireland will spend at least £7.5 million per annum (£6 million in programme expenditure) in support of the key aims of the Racial Equality Strategy for Northern Ireland.
	Some of the key actions from the Racial Equality Strategy Implementation Action Plan include:£3.2 million towards supporting English as an additional language; almost £1.1 million across all Departments to support Irish Travellers; and£0.7 million per annum to encourage capacity building within minority ethnic communities and to assist integration.
	This remaining costs figure includes where Departments have allocated staff resource to implementing the strategy. The staff estimate includes those staff processing migrant worker national insurance applications and where each Department has appointed a "Racial Equality Champion" from within their senior managers to direct the implementation of the strategy within their respective Departments including actions contained in the Racial Equality Implementation Action Plan.

Senior Citizens

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to offer senior citizens in Northern Ireland more security in their homes.

David Hanson: Statistically older people in Northern Ireland are still the least likely group of citizens to become a victim of crime. However over the past couple of years there has been a disproportional increase in domestic burglaries committed against those aged 65 years and over as a proportion of the population. It is also recognised that the fear of crime among older people is significant.
	The Community Safety Unit of the Northern Ireland Office has developed and funds the Lock Out Crime Scheme (LOCs) which supplies and installs free of charge additional home security in the form of door and window locks, door chains and viewers and external front and rear door lighting to the homes of all those aged 65 and over who are in receipt of housing benefit or a rate rebate.
	Since the launch in May 2004 up until 3 June 2006, 52,688, letters have been issued and 16,087 individuals have so far returned forms and have been admitted to the scheme. Since that date a further 4,361 letters of offer have been issued for which registration is on-going.
	In addition on 27 March 2006 I launched a mobile pilot handy van service in the Greater Belfast area. This service which is being managed by Help the Aged fits free additional home security measures for those older people who don't qualify for the LOG Scheme. There is also the Unknown Callers TV Advertising campaign aimed at providing information to older people about answering the door to bogus callers. This advert was screened for a total of six weeks during 2005.
	The police offer free advice about home security and personal attack alarms to older people and several of the Community Safety Partnerships (there is a partnership in each district council area) have included the safety of older people as a priority issue in their action plans for tackling crime. These plans have now been agreed with the Community Safety Unit and the Partnerships are currently in the process of setting up their projects.
	Finally, the police have established a special team to co-ordinate the investigations of attacks upon older people across the Downpatrick, Newry and Mourne, Craigavon, Banbridge, Armagh, Dungannon and South Tyrone, Fermanagh, Cookstown, Omagh, Strabane and Magherafelt districts. I understand that this initiative has identified a number of persons who have been were charged with and are remanded in custody awaiting trail in relation to burglary offences against older people.

Teenage Pregnancy

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2006,  Official Report, column 701-2W, on teenage births, how many under 16 year olds from Northern Ireland had a pregnancy terminated in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The Abortion Act 1967 does not extend to Northern Ireland. Consequently the termination of a pregnancy is not permitted except where necessary to save the life of the mother or where continuation of the pregnancy would involve risk of serious injury to her physical or mental health.
	While the information required is available, the numbers involved are very small and individual patients could potentially be identified. It is felt inappropriate therefore, to disclose information on the number of terminations performed on those aged 16 years or younger.

Violent Crime

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are being taken to tackle violent crime against the elderly in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: Older people in Northern Ireland are still the least likely group of citizens to become a victim of crime. However the recorded crime statistics for 2004-05 and 2005-06 to date would indicate that those persons aged 65years and over are disproportionably affected by domestic burglary as a proportion of the population. It is also recognised that the fear of crime among older people is significant. To address these issues the Community Safety Unit of the Northern Ireland Office is currently leading on the development of a strategy for the safety of older people. It is planned to publish the draft strategy document for consultation in the autumn of 2006.
	On a practical level the Unit has developed and funds a number of ongoing initiatives to tackle the problems of crime and the fear of crime amongst older people. These include the Unknown Callers TV advertising campaign which provides information to older people about answering the door to bogus callers and the Lock Out Crime Scheme that supplies and installs free of charge additional home security, in the form of door and window locks, door chains and viewers and external lighting to the homes of all those aged 65 and over who are in receipt of housing benefit or rate rebate. A mobile pilot Handy Van service was also launched on 27 March 2006 in the Greater Belfast area to fit free home security devices for the elderly who do not qualify for the LOG Scheme.
	The police in addition to offering free advice about personal security and personal attack alarms have introduced Operation Bullent in the Downpatrick, Newry and Mourne, Craigavon, Banbridge, Armagh, Dungannon and South Tyrone, Fermanagh, Cookstown, Omagh, Strabane and Magherafelt districts. This project deals with the problem of travelling criminals who commit burglary offences, including those that involve violence, predominantly against persons over 65 years in these districts by co-ordinating their intelligence, investigations of crimes and delivery of preventative measures. I understand that this initiative has identified a number of persons who have been charged with and are remanded in custody awaiting trial in relation to burglary offences against older people.
	At community level, several of the Community Safety Partnerships (there is a partnership in each council area) after conducting a community audit, have included the safety of older people as a priority issue in their respective action plans to tackle crime. These plans have now been agreed with the Community Safety Unit and the partnerships are currently in the process of setting up their initiatives.

Waste Incineration

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the incineration of  (a) municipal and  (b) industrial waste is eligible for funding under the Environment and Renewable Energy Funding package.

Maria Eagle: The Environment and Renewable Energy Fund has an £18 million allocation for Energy from Waste projects and those which could utilise either municipal or industrial waste, may be eligible for support. The Department of the Environment's Waste Management Strategy and its guidance on Best Practicable Environmental Option will be strictly adhered to for all assisted projects and this could include incineration as a suitable technology.

Working Days Lost (Public Sector)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many days were lost per staff year in each  (a) core department of the Northern Ireland administration and  (b) associated public body in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06; what the total number of days lost was in each case; and what the cost was to each such (A) department and (B) public body in each year.

David Hanson: For the purpose of answering this question, it has been assumed that the information requested relates to the level of sickness absence in each of the 11 Departments of the Northern Ireland administration, the Northern Ireland Office, departmental executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).
	The table at Annex A reflects both the position for 2004-05 in respect non-industrial staff and industrial staff in NI Departments and their executive agencies. It should be noted that there are differing methods in place across Departments for recording industrial sickness absence and information such as the average days lost per staff year is not available in all cases. The information on sickness absence levels for 2005-06 is not yet available but will be published in September 2006.
	Information relating to all NDPBs is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, where the information is available, this is reflected in the tables at Annex B.
	
		
			  Annex A: Absence information 2004-05 
			  Department/agency  Total number of days lost  Average days lost per staff year  Cost (£) 
			 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)-Overall 40,273.3 11.5 3,033,434 
			 Forest service 1,282.8 10.1 94,328 
			 Rivers agency 2,520.2 14.5 214,731 
			 DARD industrial staff 12,635.0 20.6 707,468 
			 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL)-Overall 4,653.7 11.0 434,989 
			 Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) 1,548.3 16.9 127,476 
			 Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) 1,283.5 8.1 126,956 
			 DCAL industrial staff 392 n/a 14,780 
			 Department of Education (DE) 8,274.7 12.8 716,665 
			 Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) 24,610.1 14.7 1,760,015 
			 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) 7,090.8 9.9 570,762 
			 DETI industrial staff 29 n/a 1,802 
			 Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP)-Overall 39,831.3 13.7 2,990,330 
			 Business Development Service (BDS) 3,814.7 17.3 291,929 
			 Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) 3,081.4 9.0 236,663 
			 Valuation and Lands Agency (VLA) 3,453.2 11.2 253,701 
			 Land Registers of Northern Ireland 3,971.2 17.9 238,229 
			 Rate Collection Agency 5,995.3 21.8 341,892 
			 DFP industrial staff 351 n/a 12,199 
			 Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS)-Overall 9,584.9 9.5 948,547 
			 Health Estates Agency 1,183.4 8.9 145,488 
			 Department of the Environment (DOE)-Overall 29,241.7 12.0 2,470,560 
			 Planning Service 8,592.4 11.9 800,443 
			 Environment and Heritage Service 5,204.8 9.8 461,967 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) 8,373.3 17.3 576,398 
			 Driver Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA) 5,068.0 10.5 418,805 
			 DOE Industrial Staff 1,125 n/a 52,525 
			 Department for Regional Development (DRD)-Overall 32,285.3 10.2 2,877,604 
			 Roads service 15,143.4 9.6 1,238,456 
			 Roads service industrial staff 11,329 n/a 494,958 
			 Water service 10,503.2 9.9 1,025,134 
			 Water service industrial staff 12,258.0 12.6 710,725 
			 Department for Social Development (BSD)-Overall 152,260.4 19.4 9,212,062 
			 Child Support Agency (CSA) 38,789 24.5 2,088,822 
			 Social Security Agency (SSA) 103,481.0 18.5 6,358,803 
			 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) 3,314.9 8.6 326,737 
			 Northern Ireland Office (NIO) 18,364.5 12.6 1,485,044 
			 NI Prison Service 33,272.0 15.9 3.76 million 
			  Notes:1. Staff from the parliamentary Commissioner for Complaints and the Planning Appeals Commission are included in the DFP figures.2. Staff from HSENI and OFREG are included in the DETI figures.3. The NIO figures include staff in both the NICS and HCS.4. It is important to remember that information should not be added together to give an overall total as the information for the Agencies is also counted in the information for the Department to which they belong.5. Note that unless specifically stated staff are non-industrial. 
		
	
	
		
			  Annex B: Non-departmental public bodies 2004-05 
			  NDPB  Total number of days lost  Cost (£) 
			  DARD   
			 AFBI(1) 647 33,220 
			 NIFHA(2) 264 15,730 
			 LMC(3) 290 13,996 
			
			  DSD   
			 Housing executive 47,770 2,915,612 
			 Laganside 38 2,395 
			
			  DCAL   
			 Core (industrial staff) 392 14,780 
			 Arts council 322 31,972 
			 Sports council 788 39,484 
			 Fishery conservancy board 416 13,383 
			 National Museums NI 4,984 n/a 
			 NI Museums Council 6 550 
			
			  DEL   
			 Labour Relations Agency 924 91,082 
			 Enterprise Ulster 2,077 103,133 
			 USEL(4) 213 21,480 
			 CITB(5) 581 53,169 
			
			  DETI   
			 Invest NI 6,553 538,469 
			 NI Tourist Board 1,522 124,804 
			 General Consumer Council 242 23,072 
			
			  DOE   
			 NILGOSC(6) 599 31,716 
			 LGSC(7) 72 8,199 
			
			  DE   
			 Northern Ireland Council for the curriculum, examinations and assessment 1,648 145,000 
			 Youth Council for Northern Ireland 33 4,500 
			 Council for Catholic maintained schools 651 67,000 
			 Staff commission for education and library boards 10 n/a 
			 Belfast education and library board 9,402 n/a 
			 Southern education and library board 8,129 n/a 
			 North Eastern education and library board 5,604 n/a 
			 South Eastern education and library board 4,612 n/a 
			 Western Education and library board 4,959 n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  NDPB  Total number of days lost  Cost (£) 
			  DARD   
			 AFBI(1) 661 42,127 
			 NIFHA(2) 203 12,030 
			 LMC(3) 429 38,429 
			
			  DSD   
			 Housing executive 46,476 2,967,366 
			 Laganside 121 5,579 
			
			  DETI   
			 Invest NI 5,309 558,114 
			 NI Tourist Board 2,233 183,106 
			 General Consumer Council 165 13,096 
			
			  DOE   
			 NILGOSC(6) 326 24,468 
			 LGSC(7) 40 3,453 
			
			  DE   
			 Northern Ireland Council for the curriculum, examinations and assessment 1,816 160,000 
			 Youth Council for Northern Ireland 98 14,000 
			 Council for Catholic maintained schools 840 86,000 
			 Staff commission for education and library boards 33 n/a 
			 Belfast education and library board 10,918 n/a 
			 Southern education and library board 6756 n/a 
			 North Eastern education and library board 4,971.5 n/a 
			 South Eastern education and library board 5,594 n/a 
			 Western education and library board 6,798.5 n/a 
			 n/a = Information not readily available.(1) AFBI—Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (formerly Agricultural Research Institute NI).(2) NIFHA—Fishery Harbour Authority (NI).(3) LMC—Livestock and Meat Commission for NI.(4) USEL—Ulster Supported Employment Ltd.(5) CITB—Construction Industry Training Board(6) NILGOSC—Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee.(7) LGSC—Loc al Government Staff Commission.

EU Labour Market

Helen Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the impact of EU labour market liberalisation on the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: A more dynamic and open Europe would be a Europe of increased employment, confidence and growth, a Europe which would both promote and facilitate the UK's efforts to boost its own productivity and raise its own economic performance.
	The Government places great importance on economic reform in Europe, and on encouraging greater use of policies that promote flexible labour markets.
	The Treasury keeps EU labour market developments under review, and continues to argue the case for reform in Europe. In a recent joint paper with the Swedish Ministry of Finance—Social Bridges—Meeting the Challenges of Globalisation (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./documents/international_issues/European_economic_reform/social_bridges_paper_cfm) the Government again made the case for reforming labour markets and for policies that protect people's employability rather than specific jobs or sectors.

Pension Rights (Bankruptcy)

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 864-5W, on pension rights (bankruptcy), what estimate he has made of the revenue foregone as a result of his Department relinquishing its preferred creditor status in insolvency cases.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 17 September 2003,  Official Report, column 868W. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs confirm that the estimate given then has not changed.

Population Estimates

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the methods of collecting local authority population statistics; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 5 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question about what assessment has been made of the methods of collecting local authority population statistics. (81985)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) liaises with users of population statistics across Government including the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). The ONS provides advice to DCLG on the use of population statistics and on any issues raised by individual local authorities concerning the data and methodology used. Nevertheless, as an ONS product, any assessment of methods used in calculating population statistics remains a matter for the ONS. It is for this reason I have been asked to reply to your question originally addressed to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
	The detailed methodology for population estimates is published here: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Productasp?vlnk=575
	This methodology has been developed over a large number of years. Development of the methodology, together with the methodology for other population statistics, is done in conjunction with the Central Local information Partnership (CLiP) subgroup on population estimates.
	The usually resident definition which formed the basis of the 2001 Census enumeration, and hence the mid-year estimates, was the result of extensive consultation with users and was reported in Census Advisory Group paper AG(99) 04 'Population Definitions for the 2001 Census'. A similar process is currently underway for the 2011 Census. For international migration, the population estimates use the United Nations definition of an international migrant (someone who migrates for a period of at least twelve months.)
	The Cohort Component Method, which is the method used in the UK, is an internationally respected method used for estimating population estimates in a large number of countries. ONS is undertaking a study of the Cohort Component Method for the national population estimates, comparing the method used with those used in other countries. This is part of a larger project, Improving Migration and Population Statistics, about which I have written in more detail in other replies to you.

Population Estimates

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to improve the collection of statistics on  (a) internal and  (b) international migration.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 5 July 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what steps are being taken to improve the collection of statistics on (a) internal and (b) international migration. (81986)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) are currently carrying out an extensive programme of work titled Improving Migration and Population Statistics Project which is designed to investigate improvements to the population and migration statistics produced by ONS. Further information on this work can be found at: www.statistics.gov.uk/IMPS.
	As part of this work, ONS is investigating how improvements may be made to estimates of internal migration which are currently produced using health records. In particular, the movement of students and young men are being considered and research is being carried out so that we have a better understanding of the movement of these and other mobile groups. We are also investigating other data sources that may inform our estimates of internal migration.
	The programme of research described above is also taking forward recommendations from the National Statistics Quality Review (NSQR) into International Migration. The quality review made recommendations for improving the estimation of total migration flows to and from the UK and the allocation of international migration to local areas. This work includes investigating administrative sources that may be used in producing or quality assuring the international migration estimates, investigating potential sources of information about short-term migrants and making improvements to the current source of information on international migrants, the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The latest Progress Report on taking forward the recommendations of the NSQRon International Migration can be found at http://vrww.statistics.gov.uk/about/data/methodology/quality/reviews/population.asp
	ONS are also conducting Local Authority case studies as part of the IMPS programme of work. These aim to get a better understanding, from a local perspective, of the administrative data sources that are currently used in the population estimation procedure. They will also investigate any other high quality sources that the local areas use themselves for population purposes.
	The local areas selected for these studies are ones that are known to have reasons which make their population difficult to estimate, e.g. those with a high volume of migratory moves. It is intended that these studies will contribute towards the improvement of both internal and international migration statistics.
	In May ONS set up a Task Force on Migration Statistics with other Government Departments, to identify improvements that could realistically be made over the next couple of years.

Retirement Age

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2006,  Official Report, columns 1695-6W, on retirement age, whether the conclusion set out in the answer depends upon the assumption of changes in current practice with regard to continued eligibility following career breaks.

Stephen Timms: The probability of a 20-year-old public sector worker leaving employment before age 60 was based on analysis of recent experience. No change was assumed in eligibility for pension scheme membership following career breaks.

Road Pricing Pilots

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether motorists participating in the proposed road pricing pilot will be entitled to lower rates of fuel duty when driving outside the area covered by the pricing scheme;
	(2)  whether motorists participating in the proposed road pricing pilot will be entitled to a fuel duty rebate.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Minister of State for Transport (Dr. Ladyman) on 25 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1954W.

Tax Credits

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which local authorities had an increase in the number of people claiming tax credits between 2001 and 2005.

Dawn Primarolo: A comparison of the number of recipients of working families tax credits and disabled person tax credits as at May 2001, and in-work families with children, receiving more than the family element of child and working tax credits in 2004-05, shows that all local authorities have had an increase in the number of recipients.
	Geographical breakdown of children's tax credits is not available.
	Estimates for the number of recipients of working families tax credits and disabled persons tax credits, from May 2001 to November 2002, are published in "Working Families and Disabled Persons Tax Credit Statistics, Geographical Analyses", which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/wftc/wfdptc_geog.htm
	Estimates for 2003-04 and 2004-05 of the numbers of in-work families with tax credits awards, by local authority, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2003-04 Geographical Analysis" and the "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2004-05 Geographical Analysis". These publications and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families by local authority with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2005-06 are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm.

Alcohol-related Hospital Admissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people  (a) under and  (b) over the age of 18 years were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related problems in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by region.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the table, by Government Office Region provides data on finished admission episodes for people under and over 18 years admitted to hospital for alcohol related problems in 2004-05.
	Counts of finished admission episodes for selected(1) alcohol related diseases by regional office of residence and age grouping in national health service hospitals 2004-05.
	(1) Alcohol related diseases defined as following ICD-10 codes recorded in primary diagnosis.
	
		
			  Regional office of residence  Aged under 18  Aged 18 and over  Age not known 
			 Northern and Yorkshire 742 6,013 * 
			 Trent 453 4,542 — 
			 West Midlands 573 4,976 — 
			 North West 949 8,693 * 
			 Eastern 356 3,557 * 
			 London 410 6,906 15 
			 South East 799 5,990 * 
			 South West 429 3,690 7 
			 Northern Ireland — 18 — 
			 Scotland * 48 — 
			 Wales 20 138 — 
			 England-not otherwise specified 28 1,017 31 
			 Foreign (including Isle of Man and Channel Islands) 14 97 * 
			 Unknown 33 614 33 
			 
			 England 4,809 46,299 95 
			  Notes: Finished admission episodes. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 ( seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  Primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SNA) data quality PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data; that is the data are ungrossed.  Low numbers Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between one and five have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). F10 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol K70 Alcoholic liver disease T51 Toxic effect of alcohol  Source: Hospital episode statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Breast Milk Substitutes

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what surveys she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated into (i) the perception of pregnant women and women with young children on advertising of breast milk substitute and (ii) the ability of consumers to distinguish between infant and follow-on breast milk substitutes.

Caroline Flint: The Department commissioned a survey of pregnant women and women with young children in August 2005 to establish whether there was any confusion among consumers relating to advertising of follow-on formula milks.
	The results of the survey suggest that there is some confusion among consumers. Of the total respondents surveyed 39 per cent., stated they had seen infant formula advertising, rather than follow-on formula, which is not allowed under European Union law.

Cadbury Schweppes (Chocolate Contamination)

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Cadbury Schweppes plc first became aware of the risk of contamination of its chocolate at its plant near Leominster; when tests first confirmed the existence of salmonella in its production; when the company first notified  (a) the Food Standards Agency and  (b) her Department of the (i) risk and (ii) tests results; what requirements are placed on food companies to report such potential contamination; what penalties may be imposed on them for failing to do so in a timely manner; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Cadbury's Schweppes plc first informed the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on19 June 2006 that, in relation to the current incident, they had detected Salmonella contamination of products from their Marlbrook plant in January 2006. The FSA relayed the information to my Department.
	Information subsequently provided by the company indicated that contamination of its products with Salmonella Montevideo had been identified in April 2002, but these products were destroyed.
	Since 1 January 2005, food businesses operators have been required to inform the competent authorities if they consider, or have reason to believe, that a food which they have imported, produced, processed, manufactured or distributed, is not in compliance with the food safety requirements as set out in article 14 of EC regulation 178/2002.
	Under the General Food Regulations 2004, the maximum penalties for not informing the competent authorities as above are two years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.

Carers Champion

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with carers' organisations on their proposal for a carers' champion within Government; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the implementation of the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 in Wales; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on its decision to appoint a carers champion within government and the implications of that decision in England; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  whether she has made an assessment of the policy towards carers in other EU countries; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: This Government have noted the call for the establishment of such a post but we believe that existing national directors, for example in relation to social care, older people and disease specific groups such as cancer and diabetes, should already be taking the needs of carers into account.
	In addition, we believe it is more appropriate that local health and social care professionals work together to support carers locally. This is why, in the White Paper, we encourage councils and primary care trusts to nominate leads for carers' services.
	We have not made an assessment of the policy towards carers in other European Union countries neither have we had any discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government on the implementation of the Carers Equal Opportunities Act of 2004 in Wales.

Children (Medical Procedures)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which types of medical procedure may be provided to children under 16 years of age by a medical practitioner  (a) without the consent of their parent or guardian and  (b) where such consent can be waived by the medical practitioner; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Valid consent to treatment is central to all forms of healthcare, from providing personal care to undertaking major surgery. If a young person has the capacity to give consent for themselves then health professionals should seek consent directly from them. If a young person does not have capacity then consent should be sought from someone with parental responsibility.
	In cases of life threatening emergency where consultation with a person with parental responsibility is impossible, the courts have stated that doubt should be resolved in favour of the preservation of life. In such cases a health professional could undertake treatment to preserve life or prevent serious damage to health without consent.

Community Hospitals

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government have to make extra funding available to NHS trusts to prevent the closure of community hospitals.

Andy Burnham: Revenue allocations are made directly to primary care trusts (PCTs) and not to national health service trusts. The allocations are determined on the basis of the relative needs of PCTs' populations. On 9 February 2005, PCTs were informed of their revenue allocations up to 2007-08. The 2006-07 and 2007-08 revenue allocations represent £135 billion investment in the NHS, £64 billion to PCTs in 2006-07 and £70 billion in 2007-08. The Department has no plans to make extra funding available to PCTs.
	As outlined in the recently published White Paper "Our Health, our care, our say": a new direction for community services, the Department aims to provide more care in more local and convenient settings. This will partially be achieved by introducing a new generation of community hospitals and the Department published "Our health, our care, our community: investing in the future of community hospitals and services" on 5 July which describes how the Department intends to invest up to £750 million over the next five years in a new generation of community hospitals.

Dentistry

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written statement of 18 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 63-4WS, on NHS dentistry, what assistance she expects to be made available to the Durham and Chester-le-Street primary care trust to provide salaried dentist services.

Rosie Winterton: Resources are allocated directly to primary care trusts (PCTs) to be used according to the healthcare needs of their local populations. Funding for salaried dental services forms part of their unified budget. It is the responsibility of PCTs to commission salaried dentist services, using funding from this budget according to the needs of their local populations and against national priorities.

Dentistry

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary ofState for Health, pursuant to the written statement of 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column 63WS, on NHS dentistry, how much of the capital investment for dentists is ringfenced for IT in dentistry.

Rosie Winterton: It will be for strategic health authorities and primary care trusts to make decisions locally on priorities for deploying the £100 million capital investment for NHS primary dental care services announced on 18 May. We intend to publish guidance shortly on potential ways in which this funding could be used most effectively to support dental practices and improve patient services, but we do not intend to ring-fence any element of the funding for specific types of investment.

Dentistry

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there were in Shrewsbury in  (a) 1980,  (b) 1997 and  (c) 2005.

Rosie Winterton: Data for 1980 are not held centrally by parliamentary constituency.
	As at 31 March 1997, there were 35 national health service dentists in the Shrewsbury and Atcham parliamentary constituency. At the same point in 2005 there were 80 NHS dentists.
	The England figure as at 30 September 1980 was 13,591. The number of NHS dentists in England as at 31 March 2005 was 20,088.
	 Notes:
	1. A dentist with a general dental service or personal dental service contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the primary care trust. Information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual dentists is not centrally available.
	2. Data on dentists that work only in private practice are not held centrally.
	3. Dentists consist of principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts have been excluded.
	4. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas.
	 Sources:
	The Information Centre for health and social care
	NHS Business Services Authority

Dentistry

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why the UK Government have objected to the European Medical Devices Expert Group's recommendation that a statement of conformity be given to the patient from his or her dentist on supply of a custom-made dental appliance.

Andy Burnham: This proposal which was madeby the European Commission as part of their recommendations to amend the medical devices directive 93/42/EC, is still under negotiation between member states in the Council of Ministers working group and no final decision has been reached. The United Kingdom Government will implement whatever amendment is made to the directive in this respect once it has been ratified by the European Parliament.

Departmental Annual Reports

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff in her Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in each of the last three years; and what percentage this represented of the total number of staff in each case.

Ivan Lewis: As part of the annual staff appraisal process, the performance of individuals is classified against one of the four performance related pay categories, where box one is the highest category marking, box four being the lowest. The number of staff who received a box marking of three and four is shown in the table.
	
		
			   Number unacceptable  Percentage 
			 2002-03 24 1.6 
			 2003-04 18 1.0 
			 2004-05 31 1.6 
			  Notes: Box three—most but not all objectives have been met, meaning that performance is stronger in some parts of the job than in others and further development needs can be identified and performance improvements made to reach good all round standards. These needs must have been communicated to the individual during the appraisal year. Box four—overall performance is weak and objectives are not being met. Development opportunities have not had a significant effect. By this stage, the individual concerned should have been counselled and been must have been aware that their work is unsatisfactory in both discussion and in writing.

Diabetes

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people with diabetes in England have been provided with structured patient education in (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006;
	(2)  how many primary care trusts are delivering National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines for structured education for people with diabetes.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally. However, from January 2006, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) health technology appraisal No 60—"Guidance on the use of patient education models for diabetes" requires all primary care trusts to implement NICE recommendations by providing all people with diabetes with high quality, structured education. Compliance with NICE health technology appraisals is a core standard and is assessed by the Healthcare Commission as part of its annual health check.

Digital Hearing Aids

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to introduce a minimum waiting time of 18 weeks for patients in need of a hearing aid.

Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South(Mr. Hancock) on 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 604W.

Gender Dysphoria

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what choices of provider are available for those referred for assessment, counselling and treatment, including surgery, for gender dysphoria and related gender role anxieties and conditions; whether the achievement of national waiting list targets apply to such referrals; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The care and treatment pathway for people with gender dysphoria and related conditions usually begins with the patient's referral by their general practitioner to a psychiatrist or psychologist for assessment. If the referral is to a consultant psychiatrist, national waiting targets will apply.
	Mental health services are not currently required to offer a choice of provider at the point of referral. If, following an appropriate period of assessment, gender reassignment surgery is recommended, that is usually the subject of a consultant to consultant referral which is also outside the scope of the requirement to offer a choice of provider.
	The Department recognises that transsexualism is a medical condition and that the availability of gender reassignment surgery should be dependent on the clinical need of the individual patient. Primary care trusts commission gender dysphoria and surgery services on the basis of their assessment of the needs of their populations and available service capacity.

Health Services (Stoke-on-Trent)

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation has been made of dental health for under five year olds in  (a) Stoke-on-Trent,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) England.

Rosie Winterton: The information available centrally shows that average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth (DMFT) among five year olds in the area of South and North Stoke on Trent primary care trust (PCT) is 2.01, compared to 0.97 for West Midlands and 1.49 in England as a whole.
	We have also taken note of the fact that Oldbury and Smethwick PCT, which has similar social profile to North Stoke, but receives fluoridated water, has a DMFT of 0.93. Changes we have made in the legislative framework governing fluoridation give communities with high levels of dental decay a real option of having their water fluoridated.

Independent Sector Treatment Centres

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the potential percentage increase is in the capacity for elective procedures in each relevant area for each independent sector treatment centre that has reached invitation to negotiate stage or beyond.

Ivan Lewis: Invitations to negotiate have been issued for 14 schemes which are proceeding on current indicative figures which are approximate and subject to commercial negotiation.
	Total elective activity in England in 2004-05 was 5,577,523 first finished consultant episodes. In total, the phase two procurement is expected to provide 250,000 elective procedures per annum, which would be an increase in capacity of approximately 5 per cent. This is in addition to the capacity from the first wave of independent sector treatment centres.

Insulin Inhalers

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate  (a) the extra number of NHS psychiatrists that would be needed and  (b) the extra cost that would be incurred to implement the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's proposals for psychiatric testing for the prescription of insulin inhalers.

Andy Burnham: A second appraisal committee decision on inhaled insulin from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) was published on 21 June for consultation. This doesnot constitute the NICE'S formal guidance on this technology. The recommendations made are preliminary and may change after consultation.

Macmillan Nurses

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice she has offered primary care trusts on whether they should fund Macmillan nurses after the initial period of funding provided by the Macmillan Cancer Support organisation.

Rosie Winterton: No central guidance has been issued to primary care trusts (PCTs) on whether they should fund Macmillan nurses after the initial period funding from Macmillan Cancer Support.
	It is for trusts to decide how many nurses, including palliative care nurse specialists, are employed in each specialty within hospitals. It is for local cancer networks, working in partnership with PCTs, strategic health authorities and their workforce development directorates, to assess, plan and review their workforce, education and training needs for all staff linked to the delivery of local and national priorities for cancer.

Mental Health Act

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what parts of the Mental Health Act 1983 she expects to be repealed by the forthcoming Mental Health Bill.

Rosie Winterton: In amending the Mental Health Act 1983 to deliver our policy objectives, our intention is to repeal some elements of that Act, in particular, our plans are to introduce:
	a new and simplified definition of mental disorder, which would involve amending those provisions that refer to different categories of mental disorder;
	an appropriate treatment test, which would involve repealing provisions which relate to the so-called treatability test; and
	supervised community treatment, which would involve the abolition of aftercare under supervision.

Motor Neurone Disease

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to appraise the use of non-invasive ventilation in motor neurone disease treatment.

Andy Burnham: The Department has no plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to issue guidance on the use of non-invasive ventilation in motor neurone disease treatment.
	Members of the public and professionals arefree to make suggestions on possible topics for interventional procedure guidance via NICE's website at www.nice.org.uk.

NHS Banks

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many regional NHS banks have been established since 1990.

Andy Burnham: There is only one NHS Bank,which covers all areas of the NHS in England. The Government's commitment to establish an NHS Bank was included in delivering the 'NHS Plan' published in July 2000. The NHS Bank existed in shadow form in 2002-03, and from 2003-04 it has continued as an advisory body.

NHS Finances

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the likely impact on services in trusts which have approved budgets which do not take into account interest and other payments on loans.

Andy Burnham: In 2006-07, the informal and untransparent system of cash brokerage and planned support that had previously operated across the national health service has been replaced by a formal system of interest-bearing loans and deposits.
	NHS trusts that require additional cash will take out interest-bearing loans with the Department that willbe disclosed in the balance sheet. This transparent reporting of financial performance will encourage organisations to address financial problems earlier.
	Strategic health authorities are responsible for performance managing both cash management and financial planning and should ensure that interest accruing on loans with the Department is included in the financial plans for 2006-07.

NHS Treatment

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many British taxpayers were charged for NHS treatment due to residency outside the UK for more than 6 months of the year in each year since 2000; how much revenue was raised from such charges; what criteria were used in deciding to apply such charges; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Entitlement to access free national health service hospital treatment is based on whether someone is ordinarily resident in this country, not on British nationality or the past or present payment of National Insurance contributions or United Kingdom taxes. Anyone who is not ordinarily resident is subject to the "National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989", as amended. These regulations place a responsibility on NHS hospitals to establish whether a person is ordinarily resident, or exempt from charges under one of a number of exemption categories, or liable for charges.
	Anyone who lives outside this country for more than 6 months is no longer automatically entitled to free NHS hospital treatment as they will not be considered ordinarily resident here. They will therefore be liable to charges unless they return to the UK to resume their permanent residency, or if they are exempt under another exemption category.
	Successive Governments have not required the NHS to provide statistics on the number of overseas visitors seen or treated under the provisions of these regulations or on the costs of treatment. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.

NHS Treatment

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated by the NHS for wounds caused by  (a) a knife,  (b) a dagger,  (c) a sword,  (d) other types of bladed article and  (e) a firearm in each year since 1997; what proportion of the victims were(i) male and (ii) female in each category in each year; and how many in each category in each year were admitted as emergency cases.

Andy Burnham: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Obesity

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for healthcare professionals for assisting patients to manage their weight.

Caroline Flint: National targets are set out in "National Standards Local Action: Health and Social Care Standards and Planning Framework 2005-06-2007-08". For obesity, the current target is to tackle the underlying determinants of ill health and health inequalities by halting the year on year rise in obesity in children under 11 by 2010 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole. Any local targets are set and performance managed at a local level.

Obesity

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guideline daily amounts of  (a) salt,  (b) energy,  (c) fat and  (d) saturates are recommended by the(i) Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and(ii) Food Standards Agency.

Caroline Flint: The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) supports the dietary recommendations set out by the committee on medical aspects of food policy (COMA). Dietary reference values for nutrients form the basis of nutrient recommendations on dietary intakes and are used for assessing the adequacy of diets. For adults the recommendations are:
	a reference nutrient intake of four grams of salt per day, and a target reduction in the average population intake of salt to six grams per day for adults. Lower targets have been set for children according to age;
	energy intake recommendations are set according to age, body weight and physical activity levels;
	total fat intake should average 35 per cent., of energy derived from food; and
	saturated fats— an average for the population of 10 per cent., total dietary energy.
	All the above recommendations of SACN and its predecessor, COMA, are endorsed by the Department and the Food Standards Agency.

Palliative Care

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated to palliative care in (a) England and  (b) the West Midlands in each of the past 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not routinely collect the data requested.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible within the national health service for commissioning and funding services for their resident population, including palliative care. The NHS is currently receiving the largest sustained increase in funding in its history, growth money not identified for specific purposes. PCTs will be able to use these extra resources to deliver on both national and local priorities, including palliative care.

Parkinson's Disease

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State forHealth what recent research her Department has commissioned into possible links between Parkinson's disease and use of pesticides.

Caroline Flint: The independent advisory committee on pesticides (ACP) provides authoritative advice to Government on all aspects of pesticides. At its meeting in November 2004, the ACP considered a report produced by its medical and toxicology panel on the possible links between pesticides and Parkinson's disease. At that meeting, the committee concluded that although this review indicated a correlation between recalled pesticide exposure and Parkinson's disease it did not point to a particular toxic mechanism or a hazard from a specific compound or group of compounds.
	However, the committee did advise that further mechanistic and epidemiological research be carried out on the association between pesticide exposure and Parkinson's disease. The tender process has been organised by the pesticides safety directorate and has now finished. Two research proposals have now been funded by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, one is an epidemiology study, the other a mechanistic study.
	The issue was briefly discussed at the ACP meeting of 27 June 2006 and a full evaluation is expected soon. A new study by the Harvard School of Public Health has recently been widely reported in the press and ACP shall review this as soon as it becomes available.

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2006,  Official Report, column 1083W, on practice-based commissioning, what her latest estimate is of the number of GP practices engaged in practice-based commissioning in  (a) England and  (b) each strategic health authority; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Information on the number of practices taking up an incentive payment to participate in practice-based commissioning is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Strategic health authority (SHA) name  Number of practices in SHA  Number of practices taking up an incentive payment  Percentage of practices taking up an incentive payment 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 224 81 36 
			 Essex 288 57 20 
			 North Central London 285 43 15 
			 North East London 344 218 63 
			 South East London 284 225 79 
			 South West London 230 172 75 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 233 127 55 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 172 42 24 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 251 76 30 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 347 194 56 
			 Greater Manchester 545 286 52 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 418 113 27 
			 Thames Valley 280 75 27 
			 Surrey and Sussex 363 147 40 
			 South West Peninsula 249 127 51 
			 Somerset and Dorset 177 — — 
			 South Yorkshire 222 85 38 
			 Trent 407 154 38 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 230 — — 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 285 203 71 
			 Kent and Medway 287 — — 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 500 335 67 
			 West Yorkshire 349 141 40 
			 West Midlands South 229 53 23 
			 North West London 437 194 44 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 257 90 35 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and. Wiltshire 314 75 24 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 226 141 62 
			 Total—England 8,433 3,454 41 
			  Notes:The information is correct as of 31 May 2006.Engagement in practice based commissioning is measured through take up of an incentive payment. This may be the national directed enhanced service for practice based commissioning or a local alternative. The Department is planning to publish information on the take-up of practice based commissioning for future months. This will be available on the Department's website.

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) timetable is and  (b) arrangements are for the (i) submission of applications and(ii) consideration of the appointment of the (A) chairperson and (B) members of the board of the new primary care trust covering Thurrock.

Andy Burnham: The NHS Appointments Commission is the body responsible for the appointment of chairs and non executives (NEDs) to all new primary care trusts—both non-reconfiguring primary care trusts (PCTs) and reconfiguring PCTs.
	The final candidate who is being considered for the post of Chair of South West Essex Teaching PCT, which will be the new PCT covering the Thurrock area, will be interviewed on 24 July and the Appointments Commission anticipate that the chair-designate will be appointed at the end of July at a special board meeting of the Commission.
	The non-executive director posts have been advertised and applications received. Once the chair-designate is known, the dates for shortlisting and interviewing these candidates can be arranged. The Appointments Commission aim to make the first NED appointments in September.

Public Consultations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which public consultation exercises have resulted in the closure of  (a) beds,  (b) services and (c) other NHS facilities in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many public consultations the NHS carried out in each of the last 3 years; and what the outcome was in each case.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally.
	National health service organisations have a duty to involve and consult patients, the public and their representatives in the planning and development of and any changes to the operation of services. NHS bodies are also under a duty to consult overview and scrutiny committees on any plans to make substantial variation to NHS services. Those committees have the powers to refer any proposal to the Secretary of State if they believe the plans are not in the interests of the health service. Currently there are four referrals being considered by the Secretary of State.

Reproductive Health

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many morning-after pills were sold over the counter in pharmacies in each primary care trust area in each year since 2001, broken down by age of user.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Brent East (Sarah Teather) by the then Minister of State for Health for Delivery and Quality on 11 January 2006,  Official Report, column 731W.

Reproductive Health

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on how she is carrying out her duty under section 5 of the National Health Service Act 1977 with regard to family planning services.

Caroline Flint: It is a matter for local primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine what level of contraceptive service it provides, and whom it commissions the services from, in order to meet the needs of its local population.
	Improving access to, and persuading people of the benefits of using contraceptive methods to avoid the risk of unplanned pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections is one of the key aims of the Governments White Paper "Choosing Health: making healthy choices easier".
	Earlier this year, all PCT sexual health leads were asked to complete a baseline review of contraceptive services to inform locally and nationally, gaps in service provision. The Department has so far received responses covering 245 PCTs.
	Departmental officials are currently collating these data and will publish best practice guidance for reproductive health services later this year. This will link into the White Paper and highlight findings from the review, share good practice and draw out guidance to support at local and national level the provision of contraceptive services.
	To support modernisation of contraceptive services we are investing £40 million (£20 million in each 2006-07 and 2007-08). We have also reduced the rate of value added tax on condoms and emergency hormonal contraception from 1 July to the lowest level of 5 per cent., making the costs of these items more affordable and are working with the industry to increase the supply of free condoms to high risk groups.

Seasonal Influenza Vaccine

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure sufficient supply of seasonal influenza vaccine for the 2006-07 winter.

Caroline Flint: Departmental officials meet with the United Kingdom (UK) vaccine industry group each year to discuss flu vaccine requirements for the UK. Information on the supply of vaccine for the forthcoming flu season is detailed in the letter from the Chief Medical Officer to the profession dated 29 June. A copy of which is available on the Department's website at: www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/embroadcast.nsf/vwDiscussionAII/1268E83B317864A28025719C002E5973
	Copies have been placed in the Library.

Smoking

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of women aged under 30 years who are smokers; what the figure was  (a) five years and  (b) 10 years ago; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the format requested. However, data on the most recently available estimates of the prevalence of smoking among women in 2004, 1998 and 1994 in each of the age groups 16 to 19, 20 to 24 and 25 to 34 is shown in the table. The figures demonstrate the success of the tobacco control policies the Department has introduced since the White Paper "Smoking Kills" was published in 1998.
	
		
			  Prevalence of smoking among women by selected age group, Great Britain 1994, 1998 and 2004 
			  Percentage 
			   Unweighted   Weighted  Weighted based  Unweighted 
			  Age  1994  1998  2004  2004 (thousand)  Sample 2004 
			 16-19 27 31 25 1,084 367 
			 20-24 38 39 29 1,665 542 
			 25-34 30 33 28 3,563 1,291 
			  Note: 1998 weighted equivalents are: 16 to 19 (32 per cent.); 20 to 24(39 per cent.); 25 to 34 (33 per cent.)  Source: General Household Survey 2004, Office for National Statistics.

Speech and Language Therapy

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech and language therapists were employed by each primary care trust in 2005-06; and what the ratio of speech and language therapists to the population was.

Rosie Winterton: Data on the number of many speech and language therapists employed by each primary care trust (PCQ and the ratio of speech and language therapists to the population has been placed in the Library.
	In some larger areas, which cover a number of PCTs, one PCT will take on the responsibility of providing speech and language therapists for the others. This normally happens where the local authority boundary is co-terminus with the boundaries of the PCTs involved.

Speech and Language Therapy

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to increase the number of speech and language therapists employed by the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities, local authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. This process provides the means for addressing needs within the local community including the provision of speech and language therapy.
	The number of qualified speech and language therapists employed in the national health service has increased by 1,329 (24 per cent.) since 2000 to 6,759 in 2005. The number of speech and language therapy undergraduate commissions has increased by 149(27 per cent.) since 2000 to 707 in 2005.

Speech and Language Therapy

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to decide on the proportion of funding for speech and language therapy coming from  (a) central government and  (b) local government.

Ivan Lewis: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities, local authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of speech and language therapy.

Tourists (Health Care Funding)

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account her Department takes of increased summer populations in coastal areas and other holiday destinations when allocating funds to primary care trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Primary care trust (PCT) populations are defined for resource allocation as the patients registered with general practitioner (GP) practices forming the PCT and unregistered patients within their geographical boundaries.
	The prescribing component of the weighted capitation formula includes a weighting for temporary residents on GP practice lists which advantages PCTs in coastal areas and other holiday destinations.
	The advisory committee on resource allocation is reviewing the population base for the next round of allocations.
	There are separate funding arrangements for patients who need emergency treatment away from home where the treating trust invoices the patients' home PCT.

West Cheshire Primary Care Trust

Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to the West Cheshire primary care trust for the provision of sexual health services in each of the next three financial years.

Ivan Lewis: Funding is allocated to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. It is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services, including sexual health services, to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations. Allocations made to the Cheshire West PCT from 200-06 to 2007-08 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Allocations ( £ million) 
			 2005-06 164.1 
			 2006-07 196.6 
			 2007-08 215.3